Alphabet Soup
by File 13
Summary: Who doesn't love drabbles? What better way to enjoy them by using the alphabet as inspiration? A series of Inuyasha one-shots, all based off one word prompts and different aspects of the story. Prepare the fluff and angst! Actual chapters are around 600-3250 words each, plus a few notes. Rated T to be safe. Mostly Inukag coz I can't stop myself. "Z is for Zenith"
1. A is for Answer

**Alt Title: Until It Did**

Genre: General/Hurt/Comfort

Characters: Kind of Kagome, Inuyasha, Mrs. Higurashi, and Kaede?, The Bone Eater's Well

Summary: There had been many people to stand by the Bone Eater's Well with burning questions. Most left heartbroken, without answers.

* * *

 _A/N I once read an alphabet prompt based fanfiction (I think it was for Harry Potter?), and I really liked the idea, so here goes nothing! BTW **I still need prompts for letters K, M, and U**. If you've got prompt, shoot it to me in a review! Anyway, I was just thinking about the Bone Eater's Well for this one, because for whatever reason that's the thing that popped into my head first, and then I thought... Hmm... Yeah, I like this. So, here it is? Lol, I dunno. Read and review please, and please enjoy!_

 _..._

* * *

 **A**

 _Answer_

* * *

It was cruel. Truly cruel.

There had been many people to stand by the Bone Eater's Well with burning questions. Most left heartbroken, without answers.

There had been a woman asking why, why, why each of her past three children had died soon after childbirth.

The Well did not answer.

There had been a woman desiring to know whether her lover truly had been killed in battle, his body desecrated and burned.

The Well did not answer.

There had been a boy wishing for his grandfather's health to improve, to save him from illness.

The Well did not answer.

There had been many women who had come to the Bone Eater's Well seeking answers. Some were more memorable, some were far more important.

There had been, for instance, the time when a beautiful young woman - a miko - had come to the Well. The Well was her secret sort of sacred place, a place to think. There, she could talk to the nothingness and the solid presence of the old wood structure. At first, her musings had been, as expected, more to do with her duties as a shrine maiden. She would talk herself into silence about which herbs needed to be found, which children needed healing, which homes needed repairs, which people needed youkai exorcisms.

One day, however, she began asking about love.

Did she love the half demon? Did he love her? Was it possible for a demon to feel love? And what of the Shikon no Tama? Was the hanyou simply acting as though he were falling in love with the young woman in an attempt to reach the Jewel? Or was he truly falling in love with her? And… Was she? These questions persisted, until all at once, they stopped.

The Well did not answer.

Then, there was another young woman, pretty in her own right, but never as beautiful as her sister. This girl wondered aloud to the Well whether there truly was a reason that her sister had died. She asked whether there was some greater plan fate and the gods had in store that had so brutally brought her sister's life to an end, right when her life seemed so promising, and left her one time lover hanging not fifty feet away by an arrow pierced in his chest, imprisoning him in an eternal slumber.

The Well did not answer.

A long time passed where very few women spoke to the Well.

It was quiet.

And then it wasn't.

Suddenly, a strange girl climbed from the Bone Eater's Well, and there was no longer silence. For the first time, there was more than just wondering at the Well. There were arguments, there were fights, there were tears, there were righted wrongs, there were hugs, there were lashings, screamings, laughings, playings. There were promises and reunions.

And then there weren't.

For three years, the Well was only visited, truly, by a solitary soul. Once every three days, silent and brooding. Of course, the visitor occasionally talked to himself, as if to hear his own voice. Sometimes, when he was especially down, and he knew he was alone, he would sob those heartbroken, broken sobs of a man who's lost all hope. Often, he would beg the Well, "Please, open."

The Well did not answer.

Across a world of 500 years, something similar was happening. Another few visitors would approach the Well and ask questions like those of the visitor from 500 years previous. An older woman would ask was fate so cruel as to separate her daughter from the man she loved?

The Well did not answer.

A younger woman, the daughter, would ask the Well, was there a reason to keep her from the man she loved with all her heart? Was there a reason why it had sealed itself, had stopped her passage through times? She wondered aloud whether she was stopped because her mission, her calling, was done, and she was no longer needed. She voiced the idea that perhaps the Well was healing itself from some grievous wound inflicted upon it by the destruction of the Shikon no Tama. And often, she would beg the Well, "Please, open."

And the Well, of course, did not answer.

Until one day, it did.

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Miko - a Shinto shrine maiden; "priestess"

Youkai - a demon or spirit

Shikon no Tama - the Sacred Jewel; the Jewel of Four Souls

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

* * *

 _Currently listening to: The Nights - Avicii_


	2. B is for Birdwatching

**Alt Title: Spies**

Genre: Humor/Romance

Characters: Sango, Miroku, Kagome, Inuyasha

Summary: Birdwatching was one of their favorite pastimes. Specifically lovebird watching.

* * *

 _A/N I just thought it was so silly that both pairs would constantly spy on each other when it came to the other's relationships. Even in episode 90, we see Kagome and Inuyasha hiding in the bushes watching Souta. Makes me giggle. Oh, and Inuyasha's description was just because... Well, he's half demon, but he_ was _born into royalty on pretty much both sides of his family. Izayoi was a beauty. The Inu-no-Taisho was Sesshomaru's father, and we all know Sesshomaru didn't just get his looks from his mother. So that's that. Please read and review, have fun don't die!_

 _..._

* * *

 **B**

 _Birdwatching_

* * *

It was one of their favorite pastimes, actually. Not that either of them would admit it. Granted, it wasn't normal birdwatching. It was lovebird watching.

Most days yielded infuriating results. While the objects of their attentions were so often together, both were such stubborn idiots! Kagome was simply too oblivious, and Inuyasha was simply too shy for his own good.

Today, they hoped it would be different.

Sango was kneeling beside Miroku at the moment, staring out of the bush with a feverish intensity. Miroku was watching their two favorite subjects with an almost equal fervor, hands holding a branch in the bush. It had been three years since they had last been able to observe these two! A lot changed in three years! Not the least was that Sango didn't attack the monk when his hand slipped almost reflexively and ran down her back to rest on her tailbone. She shot him a look (which went unnoticed), but nothing more.

The couple had been following the even odder couple for the greater part of an hour by now, silent as the shadows, excited as if they were children waiting for a surprise. Indeed, it would be a surprise - and a welcome one at that - if they got what they were looking for.

That dang elusive kiss.

Kagome was chatting quietly about nothing in particular as she walked into the clearing, her fingers entwined with those of her rough, yet aristocratic looking hanyou. Inuyasha was nodding and grunting, his eyes focused on their path, but ears swiveling around as he listened for any potential dangers.

Little did he know "danger" was sitting just behind a bush as he and the human woman sat down on a fallen log.

"I hope they get a move on," Sango breathed, her dark eyes never leaving the couple. "My knees are starting to hurt. And I bet the girls are getting hungry."

"Shush," Miroku breathed back, looking significantly at his wife, then at their friends. "He'll hear you."

"Who'll hear you, now?" The monk and the taijiya both jumped about a mile from where they sat, landing on their feet and staring into the cold amber eyes of their highly unamused friend. "Enjoying the show?" he asked dryly, raising a dark eyebrow.

"Inuyasha!" exclaimed the monk in a friendly, hearty voice with fooled nobody into believing he were innocent. That, and the sheepish grin across his face. "What a coincidence that we would meet you here! Sango and I were just looking for some berries when you showed up!"

"There aren't any berries in this bush, monk," said the half demon flatly, crossing his arm with his derisive expression becoming only more intense. "Ya know, despite popular belief, I'm not an idiot. You guys better scram before I get more pissed and Kagome ends up…" He gulped. Kagome was a pretty non-threatening kind of girl, but she certainly had one weapon that was pretty scary. And that weapon just happened to hang around the half demon's neck. "Yeah."

"I don't know what you're talking about, my friend," said the monk despite the obvious call to cut the crap and come clean. "Sango and I were merely passing through. However, my lovely wife and I will be happy to leave, especially when you so obviously desire to be left alone with only your love." He grinned toothily at the intense, smoldering amber glower focused on him as he wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulder. "Good luck in your endeavors, my friend!"

"Would you just shut up and scram!" barked the inu-hanyou as his friends evacuated the scene. He stood there for another moment after they disappeared, then turned back to Kagome. "Honestly, of all things."

"Well, it's not like we were much different with them," Kagome sniggered, standing and sliding her hands up Inuyasha's arms, coming to a rest on his shoulders. "We would always hide in the trees or the bushes and listen to them talk, remember?"

" _Keh_!" The woman smiled in silent laughter as the half demon leaned down, resting his forehead against hers. "They're different. Stupid monk was always flirting with women anyway."

"Shy, much?" Kagome teased, moving her hands once again to stop on the sides of his neck.

"Yeah… Right." They kissed for a few long moments, something slow and sweet, something gentle, something that made Kagome's stomach flutter with butterflies and-

Inuyasha suddenly broke away eyes wide and ears pricked forward. "OI! GIT OUTTA HERE, MONK!"

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

Taijiya - a demon slayer; "Slayer"

Inu-hanyou - a dog hanyou

* * *

 _Currently listening to: So Alive - Goo Goo Dolls_


	3. C is for Crayons

**Alt Title: Lucky**

Genre: Friendship/General

Characters: Shippo, Kagome, Inuyasha

Summary: Shippo truly was a lucky boy.

* * *

 _A/N I love drawing. I have an issue calling myself an artist, but I love art. This little piece was partially influence by my love of drawing, and also by just how innocent and cute Shippo is. He really is fun to write. Also, I couldn't resist having Kagome be an artist as well. The story was too short, otherwise. That, and I love me some vague Inukag XD_

 _..._

* * *

 **C**

 _Crayons_

* * *

Most little children made do with drawing in the dirt with a stick. If they were lucky or could afford it, they could use charcoal or even ink on linen scrolls or parchment.

But not Shippo.

Shippo was lucky. Luckier than any of those other children. Shippo had Kagome.

Oh, he was a lucky boy indeed! Not only did he have this wonderful, kind hearted girl who treated him like a precious little brother, if not almost like a son, he also had a wonderful, kind hearted girl who brought him foreign gifts from the future. Candies and sweets, toys and games, and some of the things which he cherished the most: crayons.

Oh yes, crayons. Shippo was a creative, curious boy, and drawing was one of his favorite pastimes. And oh, the colors the crayons gave him! There was a magic in these colors that ink or charcoal simply could never give him, something that truly allowed his imagination to come to life and run wild.

On top of that, he was quite the talented little artist as well. Despite being well over forty years old, he was about the human equivalent of a five year old boy. Considering this childlike frame of mind, it was quite amazing that he understood anatomy and movement as well as he did.

Granted, little Shippo's mind was full still of the rainbows of youth, despite the tragedies he had seen in his relatively short life. Most of his well made drawings were simply funny little "comics", as Kagome had shown him, or little stories to tell his fellow children while the rest of the inutachi was doing an exorcism or something of the sort to pay for a night under a roof. But they were impressive nonetheless. Kagome always commented on how absolutely beautiful they were every time they sat together and drew under the shade of a tree while they rested on the road. To this, he would turn to her with a wide, absolutely adoring grin and nod, his little fox heart swelling with pride before turning back to his artwork.

Sometimes, Shippo would look up from his own work and look at Kagome's. She herself enjoyed drawing almost as much as he did, and even kept what she called a "sketchbook", which she kept in the front pocket of her monstrous yellow backpack. Every time Shippo could see what she was drawing, he was impressed just as much as she was with his.

Shippo loved his crayons. He loved each color, each hue, each little stick of wax. He loved the excitement they brought to the stark white of Kagome's futuristic parchment (she called it "copy paper"), the life to his drawings. But there was something about Kagome's drawings as well, even if she didn't use his crayons, or indeed any color at all. Not usually at least. Occasionally, she would bring some little tin of hard color, to which she would add water and paint with, but usually she would use a pencil and simply sketch. She would sketch a flower, she would sketch a tree, she would draw the face of a villager as he wove a basket on his porch, she would draw a dilapidated hut. And though she tried to hide it, she would also more often than not draw a certain hanyou as he sat beside her, resting against a tree with his eyes closed, as he paced the path grumbling under his breath, as he smiled into the breeze, while he looked at her.

All the while, she could do it without color. Only in blacks and greys. And it was just as fascinating to Shippo to watch those drawings come to life as it was for her to watch him color. She was able to breathe life into her sketches with just a few strokes, he with just a story.

The little kitsune looked curiously at his crayon, and smiled brightly once again.

He really was a lucky boy.

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Inutachi - the group consisting of Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo; often translated to "Inuyasha and co." in the manga

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

Kitsune - a fox demon/youkai

* * *

 _Currently listening to: While My Guitar Gently Weeps - Regina Spektor (yes, I just watched Kubo and the Two Strings. Be quiet.)_


	4. D is for Daughter

**Alt Title: Letters to the Dead**

Genre: Family/Hurt/Comfort

Characters: Kagome's mother, Kagome

Summary: Mrs. Higurashi never really got over her husband's death. So she still writes him letters.

* * *

 _A/N It was quite the struggle figuring out how to format this one, but I hope it worked. I know I said I don't see enough stories about Izayoi (which is the reason why I wrote "The Day Will Come", which I'm actually mildly happy with), but I see even fewer about Kagome's mother. For the sake of the story, I've dubbed her "Michiko", which translates to "beautiful wisdom". A fitting name, I thought. Also for the sake of the story, I named Kagome's father "Tamotsu", meaning "keep" or "maintain". Anyway, please read and review, enjoy, love yourselves don't die! **I still need prompts for letters K, M, and U, by the way, so shoot me a suggestion**! Thanks, and enjoy~_

 _..._

* * *

 **D**

 _Daughter_

* * *

She went by many names, her favorite being "mama", her given being Michiko. She was a pretty woman, especially for her age, with short brown hair and a similarly short stature. Michiko also had two beautiful, wonderful children whom she loved with all her heart. She worked hard keeping them happy, keeping them safe. Such was the life of a single mother.

Michiko was once married, and very happily in fact. She had loved her husband very, very much, but life was not always kind. When her daughter had been very young, and her son still a baby, he had gone to work as usual on his motorcycle, and was killed on his way there, hit by another car. The tragedy had very nearly torn Michiko apart, and it certainly tore apart her heart. But she was able to eventually come to terms with her beloved's death by taking care of her precious children, and helping her rather senile, but kind father-in-law run his shrine.

Michiko's mind had come to terms with her husband's death.

That didn't mean her heart had.

It had been many years by now. And each and every day hurt. Some days it was simply a passing sadness, like a cloud over the sun, dimming the world for a few moments before she was returned to the full brightness of life and her children. Other days, it was a crippling darkness that left her gasping with tears and alone. The latter of the two days had become fewer and farther between with the passing of the years, but they did still occasionally happen.

So she wrote letters. Letters to her dead love. Michiko knew it was sort of silly, writing letters to a dead man, never sent, but she continued to write them any way, each character beautifully handwritten and lovingly made, each paper folded and put into a box. The box was placed carefully on a shelf beside an old journal she had not written in in many, many years.

But at the moment, the box was sitting on the writing desk, open. A few letters were sitting out open and patient for any to read, beside Michiko's steadily writing hand.

 _To my love,_

 _Kagome finally came home to us. I would say you've no idea how relieved I was to see her come back, but I think you would. She's your daughter too, after all! Father and I were so confused when she kept talking about falling into that old well by the house, ending up in the past if you can believe it. Kept going on about demons and Sacred Jewels. Your father and I couldn't believe it - she's such an honest girl after all, but this was just so far fetched - but that was until the strangest boy suddenly walked in on us while we were just sitting down to eat._

 _Kagome said he was a half demon by the name of Inuyasha. And oh my was he a handsome boy as well, with the longest white hair and the prettiest amber eyes. What's more, he's apparently half dog demon, because he had the cutest pair of doggy ears you ever did see! Jumped about a mile when I touched them._

 _Anyway, this boy and Kagome seem to-_

The rest of the letter was cut off by the next, the date on the folded over on the back showing it was written some months later.

 _-perfect score. Oh, was he so proud! And he was studying for ages before that spelling bee._

 _On another note, Kagome finally came back from the Sengoku Jidai. She says she was just coming back to study for an upcoming test in I think she said History, but I'm pretty sure she had another argument with Inuyasha. I've said it before and I'll say it again, those two sure do fight like cats and dogs, with the ears to boot on that poor boy. She's so upset. I do have to say, though, that I'm pretty sure it was both their faults that they got into an argument. You know Kagome; she'll do anything to make people see her side, and Inuyasha will say anything to be tough. I pity the boy. He talks big, but I walked into Kagome's room sometime around eleven and he was just sitting there, staring at her while she slept. He wouldn't ever do anything to her, I know it. I'm not worried for them at all. But it really was quite… Emotional, I think. That boy will do anything to protect our daughter. So that's why I'm not really worried about her going into the past with how dangerous it can be._

 _Honestly, they kind of remind me of us when we were still in high school. Always arguing, still trying to figure things out. Funny, huh?_

 _Love,_

 _Michiko_

There was another letter, this dated two years later, written in blue ink rather than black.

 _Dearest,_

 _Today was… Difficult. Souta seems to be adjusting well to middle school. He's making friends and keeping up well with his schoolwork. He's even made it onto the soccer team, playing as the goalie. And Kagome seems like she's enjoying school as well, and she's doing well in class. But… She's been so sad lately. She's been sad like I am when I'm missing you, love. She just keeps staring into space, and she seems to spend a lot of time in the wellhouse. Heartbroken. The Bone Eater's Well has been sealed for over two years now, and she's growing up with a broken heart. She misses her friends on the other side. She misses Inuyasha._

 _I'm not honestly sure what to do to help her. She knows that he's still alive (or at least we hope he is; the Feudal Era is so dangerous after all), and she was never really with him, so there's just no closure for her. Not like with Souta and Hitomi. Not like with you and I. She-_

There were several more letters scattered about, with snatches of words and phrases just visible from those three letters so prominently placed over the top. Michiko stopped writing, setting her pen down and gazing fondly at her newest written letter.

 _To my dearest husband,_

 _He's beautiful._

 _I can hardly believe how beautiful he is._

 _I was so glad your daughter decided to come back to the present the moment she could. I doubt I could have survived wondering if she was okay another moment._

 _But oh, the baby… Love, he's precious. Kagome was complaining about some killer heartburn during her last few months or so (her words, not mine), and no wonder! He had so much hair, almost a full head, and black as night, and he has the cutest little puppy ears. He's a little small, but we're sure he'll grow quickly enough._

 _It's just amazing. I still can't believe our little girl's a married woman, much less a mother._

 _And do you want to know what they named him?_

"Mama?" Mrs. Higurashi looked up, beaming, to see a pretty, black haired young woman of about 19 standing in her doorway, holding a little bundle. The elder woman stood up, squeezing her daughter and kissing her newborn grandson, before the two left the room closing the door behind her. The letter continued to sit on the desk, innocent, the ink still wet.

 _Tamotsu..._

 _They named him after you, love._

 _They named him after you._

 _Love,_

 _Michiko_

* * *

 _Glossary:_

None

* * *

 _Currently listening to: I'm Still Here - John Rzeznik_


	5. E is for Embitter

**Alt Title: Bitterness and Trust**

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Characters: Sesshomaru, kind of Kagura?

Summary: It would have been so easy for him to have become embittered. So... Why wasn't he?

* * *

 _A/N I still so wish Kagura would have survived... But I felt like I needed to take a little break from writing self-indulgent Inukag (yet, there's STILL some here?), and everyone seems to love Sesshomaru. I won't deny I see where the fascination is for his character... But I've never been particularly fond of him. He's cool and all, and he does his part for the story, but... Ehh. Never been my type XD As from the word, I never got a suggestion for E, so I went to my old freind the dictionary, opened to letter E, and this was what I saw, and I thought Sesshomaru. SO. Anyway, as usual, have fun, love yourselves, don't die, and please read and leave a review! Reviews feed my soul *sobs*, and **I still need words for K, M, and U!**_

 _..._

* * *

 **E**

 _Embitter_

* * *

Today found him sitting cross-legged on a cliff overlooking the river and forest. He did not move, and hadn't moved since nearly an hour before the sun began to rise. To the casual passer by, he was an oddity and a marvel all at once, a beautiful, strange specimen in flowing robes and furs, glinting armor, and long white hair that waved wherever the wind so please. A demon, a daiyoukai.

Of course, none of those humans passing would ever know his story. He would always continue to be that singular marvel, glimpsed through the trees or sitting high above them, waiting. There were very few Sesshomaru allowed into that small circle of enlightened and - dare he say completely trusted? - beings.

The most socially important of those beings would have to be his mother. Like him, she was an inu-daiyoukai, and she was left in a position of immense power ruling over the Western Lands, at least until he decided to take control from her. However, she was also quite cool and aloof, not the kind, warm motherly type to be the shoulder to cry on at night. Not that he'd ever cry, of course. Such were unbecoming to a daiyoukai.

The ones he held most important, however, would have to be his ward - a young human woman by the name of Rin - who had met him and tried to care for him as he healed from a battle, and his underling, a kappa named Jakken who had accompanied him for nearly a hundred years. Those two had been on many journeys and quests together, each one becoming more dangerous than the previous, especially as Rin had grown into such a fair young lady, now around fifteen years of age. Kohaku, a young taijiya who had traveled with them before Naraku's defeat, also accompanied more and more often on their quests. Rin seemed very fond of him, and in the past he had proven his trustworthiness… That was, when he wasn't under a spell to kill. Sesshomaru kept a close eye on the boy at all times.

There were only a few more whom he trusted even a tiny bit. The first was, in fact, the one who had wounded him in the battle before he met his ward; his younger half brother, a hanyou by the name of Inuyasha. The boy - man, by now, he knew, as he aged the same as a human - had matured greatly since their first few meetings, all of which had consisted of at least one trying to kill the other. He had become almost as powerful as a true youkai, and far more level-headed with age. Sesshomaru supposed that maturity was helped along by the birth of his three children. Or was it four? Either way, he was almost to the point where Sesshomaru had thought about splitting the Western Lands with him; it was his birthright, after all, being the son of their father, and he had become almost as strong a leader as he was.

The second person happened to be his half brother's wife, Kagome, a pretty woman with the strongest spiritual powers the daiyoukai had ever met, and a temper to match her husband's. While she might have been physically weak (as all humans were), she was intelligent and kind, and always ready to listen. Her strong sense of morality had been an odd breath of fresh air to Sesshomaru when she had first met her, and he would never cease to be secretly amazed by the love and loyalty she held for his half brother, even going so far as to fling herself between him and danger, and then insulting the danger. She was either incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid.

The last people Sesshomaru felt he could trust with his emotions and secrets were probably the most trustworthy for the simple fact that they were dead. His father, the Inu-no-Taisho, had been a great and powerful leader who secretly fell from grace when he fell in love with a human woman, a princess who eventually gave birth to Sesshomaru's half brother. The Inu-no-Taisho had soon after succumbed to his wounds, weak from his battle with his mortal enemy, the dragon demon Ryukotsusei. His death had shook Sesshomaru to the core, a little as he liked to admit it, and his anger with his father only grew thereafter for over sixty years. And then there was the most unsuspecting one of the entire lot. A wind sorceress by the name of Kagura, who had been until the day of her death a servant of his enemy, Naraku. He had been present at her death, killed by poisonous miasma and unable to be saved by Tenseiga. He had tried, but he knew her body was beyond saving.

Her death had been… Surprisingly difficult for him. He'd barely known the woman, but he somehow wished he'd known more.

In fact, learning to trust all these people, even his father, had been surprisingly difficult for him. He'd been alone for so long, coveting birthrights from his father which ended up being given to his hanyou half brother, avoiding weak human emotions, hating his half brother for bringing his father's death about by distracting him from battle.

And yet, he wasn't bitter anymore..

He had every reason to be, but he wasn't.

For whatever reason, the moment he let Rin into his life as that happy, optimistic eight year old child, the moment he decided to protect her and Kohaku, the moment he gave up fighting for Tetsusaiga… He'd never felt truly happier in his life. It was the strangest thought. He wasn't bitter… Because he was happy.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" The rough, simpering tone of his acolyte reached the inu-daiyoukai's sensitive ears, still a long ways away. He stood, straightening and continuing to gaze at the rising sun which dyed the trees and water purples and blues and bright, blood reds. The wind swirled around him, and he could have sworn it had caressed his cheek - a gentle, feminine caress, the teasing of a beautiful woman. Despite himself, he smiled and closed his eyes.

He wasn't the only one who could have been bitter.

And he wasn't the only one who wasn't.

...

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Daiyoukai - a powerful demon/youkai

Kappa - a water demon/youkai

Taijiya - a demon slayer; "Slayer"

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

Youkai - a demon/spirit

Inu-no-Taisho - a title for Inuyasha's and Sesshomaru's father; literally "Great Dog General"

Tenseiga - Sesshomaru's sword

Tetsusaiga - Inuyasha's sword

* * *

 _Currently listening to: Bad Reputation - Joan Jett_


	6. F is for Falling

****Alt Title: I Know I'm Falling****

Genre: Romance/Humor

Characters: Kagome, Inuyasha

Summary: Kagome's falling, but she's less worried about landing, more worried about a certain dog-eared half demon. Honestly, the thoughts that run through her head...

* * *

 _A/N It suddenly struck me that I tend to avoid writing in the first person. So here's a go, from Kagome's perspective, and also in an odd format (which is influenced by the story "I Hate That F-ing Well"; it's really good, 11/10 do recommend). Tell me, did I get her character right? I'm not sure... Oh well. Short and sweet chapter. Enjoy, read, review, love yourselves, don't die. OH AND as I listened to it the entire time while writing, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND LISTENING TO RIDE BY TWENTY ONE PILOTS WHILE READING, hopefully you'll get the feel of this one shot like I was trying to get. Okey byyyyyyy, huehuehuehue.._

 _..._

* * *

 ** **F****

 _Falling_

* * *

Well that's brilliant. Of all times for my stupid lack of any sense of balance to act up, why right now. Why right now? And I was doing so well, too! I've hit pretty much everything I've aimed at, I've dodged like twelve youki attacks.

Jeeze, Inuyasha's gonna have a _fit_ when he sees he's gonna have to save me aga-

Oh gosh. _Inuyasha_. He's going to have to save me _again…_ Just like _always…_ Oh no! Now he's going to get all upset and distracted! And in the middle of battle… Oh, what if he gets hurt again! I mean, that's nothing out of the ordinary, but still. He always seems to get hurt because I screw up.

And then after the battle, he's going to get all worked up again. _Man_ , I can just imagine him already: 'Uhhg, you useless wench, what were you thinking, going into battle like that. Uhhg, you're pathetic. Can't even hit the target, aaaahhh…'

Well, okay, maybe he won't say _that_. _Maybe_. _Hopefully_. But he's still going to get all angry over nothing. I'm only plummeting to my almost certain death fifty feet below me is all, nothing crazy. "Crazy" is the sort of stuff he's doing. The Kaze no Kizu and the Kongo Souha and all that. Save the crazy stuff for him.

Save all the crazy stuff for him! Ooh, that makes me so mad! He's over there with Tetsusaiga and protecting everyone, and what am I doing? Shooting little demons with arrows, that's what. Stupid, weak youkai. Oh, and purifying the occasional cloud of shouki. But seriously, that's _it_! I'm so _weak_ compared to him! I want to protect my friends _just as much_ as they want to protect me, so why does Inuyasha get all the strong powers and I'm sitting over here, falling, and with a stick that literally shoots other sticks?

I mean...He's protecting _everyone…_ He's protecting _me_. But that's just because I can see the Shikon Jewel shards, yeah? He's only still here because he… He needs me like a tool, right? I'm just… I'm not anything _special_ to him... Right?

But… _Kikyo_ can see the Jewel shards too. And he's still… Protecting… Me…

I'm not anything special to him, right?

It feels like I've been falling an awful long time, now...

" _Kagome!"_

Oh, now he's noticed. Ohh, he's going to get himself hurt over me again! He's going to-

" _Inuyasha!"_

How is he still moving! That sword went straight through his side! How come he's still coming to get me! You stupid idiot, run away! Don't catch me, you're…

Too late.

His arms… They're very warm. They're almost hot. My gosh, are you seriously worrying about getting blood on my school uniform? Just hold me like normal! Better yet, just set me down! You're injured!

" _Are you okay?"_

Am I okay? And _I_ okay? For the love of… You've got a freaking _sword_ _wound_ in your _side_ , you idiot!

"Keh _! This is nothin'! Just stay outta danger while I'm dealing with this guy, alright? I ain't got time to keep saving you."_

There he goes. Like always. I just… I don't _understand_ him. Why's he always, _always_ going out of his way to save me? Why is he always risking his life for me? His little excuse of me being a Shikon shard detector ain't going to cut it anymore. Not when Kikyo can sense the shards just as well as - if not _better_ than - me. He's always protecting me, and-and he's so mean to me, and he keeps going back to Kikyo, but then he's… He was so gentle… He's always so careful whenever he's carrying me… He's so worried. He isn't as worried about Sango and Miroku or even Shippo. He's always so...

Oh gosh, I know I'm falling.

But I'm not falling down.

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Youkai - a demon or spirit

Kaze no Kizu - "Wind Scar"

Kongo Souha - "Adamant Barrage"

Tetsusaiga - Inuyasha's sword

Shouki - miasma, often as a poisonous smoke

* * *

 _Currently listening to: Ride - Twenty One Pilots_


	7. G is for Grandfather

**Alt Title: Conflicting Emotions**

Genre: Family/General

Characters: Grandpa Higurashi, Inuyasha, Kagome

Summary: Jii-chan has some conflicting views about a certain half demon.

* * *

 _A/N I probably read too much into old man Higurashi's character, but it felt somewhat appropriate. It's not very obvious in the anime (or the manga for that matter), but I always had the sneaking suspicious Jii-chan didn't 100% trust Inuyasha. Especially not after he destroys certain "priceless artifacts". The old guy seemed to take a lot of pride in his heritage, and I don't think that Shrine keepers would be very fond of demons. But seriously, how can he not trust Inuyasha after he's protected his granddaughter for so long? Also, I have got no idea why Inuyasha's so sad. Don't ask why coz IDK XD_

 _..._

* * *

 **G**

 _Grandfather_

...

* * *

Old man Higurashi's eyes narrowed from over his paper, glaring at one of the strangest enigmas he had ever the chance to meet.

The mystery himself was a tall boy of eighteen, with long white hair, amber eyes, dog ears, and a magic sword. Not much about him _wasn't_ odd, right down to his fiery red robes and hakama. At the moment, he was leaning cross-legged against the wall to the sitting room, leaning his head back against the wallpaper and staring dazedly at the ceiling. He'd actually been there since nearly two hours ago by now, just watching the dull white ceiling and blinking.

It struck old man Higurashi a little odd, actually. This strange boy wasn't one for just sitting around so far as he'd seen. Normally, he would have taken up tormenting Buyo, or asking the old man whether there was any help needed around the shrine, or hunting for food that would more often than not end up being instant ramen. But this lack of any energy or will, and the vaguely sad expression all simply added to the confusion.

But the expression wasn't what left the old man feeling wary. Rather, it was the boy himself. Despite having the build of a normal man, and despite talking like and even acting like a man, the boy was not human. His granddaughter had once explained to him the term "hanyou": a half demon, half human being who was more often than not cast out of normal society for their lineage, and more often than not not surviving into adulthood. This boy was obviously one of those exceptions to that final description, being a nearly full grown and somewhat attractive young man, but he otherwise fit into each of those other categories.

His granddaughter had, for example, explained to him at length what she had discovered of the boy's past. She explained that his mother had been a princess, his father a powerful daiyoukai. She elaborated on what she had pieced together of his very secret childhood, how he had grown up alone, fighting every day of his life, until he finally began to get friends. She'd even told her grandfather about some of the things that the common man of that time did to him even now, attacking him without provocation, insulting him, fearing him, acting out of prejudice. It had all sounded very unfair, and the old man would be lying if he didn't pity the boy.

He took a sip of his tea behind his newspaper. However, he had to admit that, while he pitied the boy, and however terrible it sounded, he did not completely… _Like_ the half demon, and it wasn't just because he had lost him several priceless heirlooms because of his various hijinks. No… It wasn't that.

Old man Higurashi was a proud member of the Higurashi family. His ancestors had long run this shrine where he now lived, all of them strict followers of that ancient belief that demons were evil.

As much as he disliked admitting it, he held some dislike for this boy sitting before him, waiting for his granddaughter. And it was simply because of the demonic blood which ran through his veins.

And then there was his granddaughter herself. The way the hanyou treated her! His words were harsh and rough, unrefined and utterly rude, especially to such a lovely, kind, human girl. But then Kagome would come home and tell the family of her adventures, and she would tell them of how this boy, this half demon, would protect her, and make sure she was always so safe, and old man Higurashi would know that he could never hate the young man. The young man who always put his precious granddaughter first and foremost over his own safety.

The old man sighed. The boy really was a piece of work.

"I'm home." The tired, feminine call came from the front door, signalling Kagome's return.

"Ah, Kagome," said the old man, rustling his paper shut and fixing his granddaughter with a beady, but fond old eye. "Welcome back dear. Your mother's out getting groceries at the moment, but she told me to tell you not to eat anything. She was planning to get something on her way back home."

"Okay then." Kagome entered the kitchen doorway, where her eyes fell immediately on the half demon sitting against the wall. His inhuman amber eyes turned to her the moment she entered. "Inuyasha? What are you doing here?"

Without a word, Inuyasha stood and swept over to the girl, embracing her as tightly as he could. "I-Inuyasha!" The hanyou did not answer, simply pulling the girl closer. Kagome seemed to get the gist, though. "Hey… What's wrong?"

"Could we… Could we talk in private?" he murmured, casting a sad, yet wary look at old man Higurashi, who tensed a little under that golden gaze. Kagome glanced at her grandfather as well before nodding.

"Sure, let's go." She made to let go of the half demon, but he instead scooped her up into his arms, holding her so carefully as to almost be lovingly, and left the house out of the living room slider. He left behind old man Higurashi's roiling, confusing thoughts, unfortunately. Here again was that infuriating paradox.

How was it, he fumed from within his own mind, that someone with such evil blood, have such a good heart? How could he trust such a demonic being as much as he did? How was it that someone that held such contemptible power as youki could love his granddaughter as much as he did?

The grandfather chuckled at the thought despite himself, because he knew that while he knew that the boy loved the girl - and vice versa, he was also quite sure that the boy and the girl weren't aware of the fact themselves. Honestly... The boy couldn't be all that bad.

...

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Hakama - a type of folded pants, part of Japanese formal dress (Inuyasha's are a type of tied hakama)

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

Daiyoukai - a powerful demon/youkai

Youki - demonic power/aura

* * *

 _Currently listening to: Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People_


	8. H is for Hewn

**Alt Title: Apology Gift**

Genre: Humor

Characters: Shippo, Inuyasha, Miroku

Summary: Hanyou's have hobbies too! Shippo's pretty curious as to what Inuyasha's is...

* * *

 _A/N I was originally going to write something super angsty to the prompt "hell", but then I thought... Nah, I'm gonna go back to my old friend the dictionary and choose a random word. It turned out to be "Hewn", so this happened. That, and I've always wanted to try a dialogue challenge, because I REEEEALLY struggle with dialogue..._

 _Just a little background for this one shot, in case it's not obvious, Kagome has returned to her era just after Inuyasha and Kouga got into another argument. Can't say I blame her! My brother and I are pretty much exactly the same as those two, hahah! Welp, read, REVIEW, love yourselves, don't die, and I'ma go to bed now... huehueheuehuehue..._

 _..._

* * *

 **H**

 _Hewn_

* * *

"I wonder when Kagome's getting back."

" _Keh_. You expect _me_ to know, runt?"

"Relax Inuyasha, he's only wondering. No need to get all worked up."

"Yeah, what Miroku said!"

"Both of you shut up! I don't need to listen to you."

"Honestly, I'm not surprised Kagome's not coming back."

"Wha… What do you mean?"

"You're so mean to her, too! I bet she got fed up, and now she's gonna leave us alone all because you're jealous all the time."

"Sh-shut up!"

"Ow!"

"Inuyasha, don't hit Shippo."

"Well he started it! If he can't take a hit, then maybe he needs to stop acting like such a b-"

"Inuyasha, _stop_. Shippo, are you okay?"

"I-I think s-so…"

"Good. Don't cry, you're okay."

"Okay…"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Say Inuyasha?"

"Hmm."

"What's that you've got there?"

"Where?"

"What's that in your hands?"

"None of your _business_ , runt,"

"Can I see?"

"No!"

"Are you _carving_ something, Inuyasha?"

" _No_!"

"Yeah, he _is_ , Miroku! I wanna see, what is it?"

"I said it's none of your business! Git offa me!"

"But I wanna _see_!"

" _Hey_! Give that back here!"

" _OW_!"

"Inuyasha! Quit hitting Shippo!"

"Yeah, why are you so m _-mean_!"

"Shippo, you're not in the right either. You don't just go taking stuff from people, especially not when they're working on it. Got it?"

"But I wanted to _see_ it…"

"I know you did, but that still doesn't give you the right."

"Give it here, _runt_."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Inuyasha…?"

" _What_?"

"... Why are you carving a dog out of wood?"

"Why do _you_ want to know? It's nothin' to do with you, so keep your nose out of it."

"Are you making it for Kagome?"

" _Oi_! Same goes for _you_ , monk. Keep your nose out of it unless you _want_ your damn face bashed in."

"Watch your language. There's children present."

" _Keh_!"

"You know… I think Kagome's gonna like that dog when he's finished with it, don't you, Miroku?"

"H-hey!"

"Yes, I think she will as well."

"Will you guys get offa my back? I ain't gonna finish the dang thing if you two don't shut up!"

" _Hahah_! Okay, okay, we'll stop. After all, we don't want Lady Kagome upset because she didn't get her _apology gift_ , _do_ we now?"

" _OI_!"

* * *

 _Glossary:  
_

None

* * *

 _Currently listening to: Take It Easy - The Eagles_


	9. I is for Izayoi

**Alt Title: I Finally Understand**

Genre: Family/Hurt/Comfort

Characters: Inuyasha, Kagome, Baby Izayoi, Izayoi

Summary: There's a strange significance to the name. Inuyasha's spending a little time thinking.

* * *

 _A/N Number one, sorry for the lack up updates today; lectures suck. That, and all those other chapters were just stockpiled chapters, sooooo hopefully I'll update one to two a day? At least one._

 _Anyway, Inuyasha may be a big tough guy, but I bet he'll blubber every time his kids are born. I don't care if the baby's name is uncreative, it's a good trope and I like it. Usually. It's kind of annoying. But still. ALSO this ended up being WAY longer than I originally intended, so XD Enjoy. Please leave a review, love yourselves, don't die, okei byyeeeeeeeee OH AND I NEED A PROMPT FOR " **K** " STILL. Okay I'm done, I'll leave now, huehuehue O K BYEE._

 _..._

* * *

 **I**

 _Izayoi_

* * *

Her name meant the sixteenth night. She was a beauty in all shapes and forms, with hair black as night, and beautiful, sparkling eyes like stars. She was a princess, the daughter of noble blood and was truly a wonder to the world.

And as Inuyasha held his newborn baby daughter in his arms, his thoughts couldn't help but wander to her namesake.

She looked so much like his mother… In the most not weird way he could manage to think the fact in his scrambled mind. Perhaps it was his frazzled nerves that made him think it in the first place. After all, he _had_ just listened to his wife screaming her head off for several hours straight. Anybody would be shaken after that. That, and the fact that it was four in the morning. Yes. That was it. He shook his head, looking again at the little sleeping wonder in his arms.

His mother might not have had little black dog ears or amber eyes, but she had been a beauty of a human. And she was kind, too. The kindest woman Inuyasha had ever the pleasure of meeting or speaking to until Kagome, and even then, Kagome could be brutal. But not Izayoi. The hanyou could remember much of his mother quite well, despite her dying while he was only four or five. She was always soft-spoken and gentle. He could only remember her raising her voice in anger a couple times ever. And she never raised her hands in punishment to him. Her hands were always kind and gentle. The half demon hoped beyond hope that this little girl would be the same. Kind, and gentle, but so unlike his mother in that she would be truly happy.

His mother may have worn a smile, but there was always something sad about her eyes. The way they never opened fully, the way her smile would very quickly slip from her face. She thought her young son might not have noticed. But he did. And try as he might to make his mother laugh or grin, no matter how many flowers he brought her, or how many drawings he made, or how many bugs he found, he simply could not make her happy for more than a few moments. And never, ever could he try again. She was dead, after all.

Tiny hands, soft as velvet, now waved slowly before his eyes, a little coo coming from the baby Izayoi. He couldn't help it. _Gods… I made this…_ I _made this… This is… This is mine..._

"Inuyasha? Are you okay?" Kagome's voice was tired and faint, but reached her husband's ears, which were slowly flattening against his head. "Are you… Are you _crying_?"

" _Keh…_ No I'm not, don't be _stupid_ ," he croaked through the tears that were very obviously falling. "I'm just… I'm just…" He sniffed, looking away in mild shame.

"Thinking about your mother?"

The hanyou turned back to his wife - his lovely, exhausted, sleepy wife - and stared with his mouth open. "How… How did you know?"

Kagome smirked and chuckled. "Your face. Here, lemme have her." Obediently, Inuyasha repositioned himself beside the woman and handed her the baby Izayoi. Her breath hitched while passing arms, making Inuyasha flinch in preparation for screaming and crying, but it never came. The newborn settled against her mother's chest without another sound save for a disgruntled little coo. Inuyasha merely watched as his wife settled more comfortably with the baby. _His_ baby. His baby girl.

The thought still blew his mind away. He knew it would happen, he knew he was having a baby, but it had never seemed so real as just now. He wondered, vaguely, if Kagome had experienced the same sense of reality only now, or if she knew how it would be long before the past hours. He wondered if his mother had.

He looked back up to Kagome's face. There was an overwhelming sense of love on her face as she wrapped the baby tighter in her blankets. A look he had seen only a few times before on Sango and in his past.

" _Mama, what was it like when I was born?"_

His mother had seemed to be thinking hard, gathering her thoughts or wondering how to word them. She'd looked back at him after a moment, smiling that semi-genuine smile and simply said, " _You'll know when you have your own children, my dear._ "

" _Oh_." The answer had been rather underwhelming, especially to such a young boy as him. Then, " _But I wanna know right now_."

She'd laughed that strange, faraway laugh, and then looked at him with that same, overwhelming gaze as Kagome wore now. " _Someday, my love. You'll know someday_."

"Inuyasha?" Kagome's voice broke through his reverie. That look of love was now directed at him.

"Hmm?"

Kagome looked between his eyes, something oddly melancholy filling in her own. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha…"

"What?" The statement took him by surprise, and he cocked his head to the side, rather like a confused dog. Kagome smirked a moment at the thought before her face returned to its original position.

"I'm sorry about your mother, is all. I hope… Naming our baby… I hope it didn't bring back bad memories."

Inuyasha scoffed softly. "No," he rumbled, kissing his wife on the forehead and then resting his head on her shoulder, gazing at _his_ baby girl, in _his_ wife's arms. "It didn't bring back bad memories. Just… Memories…"

 _Wherever you are, Haha-ue… I hope you're seeing this. Because I finally understand._

Unbeknownst to human, hanyou, or newborn child, there was a fourth being in the room. She sat beside her son, a silent spectre, resting her own cheek on his shoulder as she stared at her daughter-in-law and grandchild. A pale tear ran down her cheek as she smiled one of the most genuine, happy smile she had ever in her life. "My son… I'm so proud of you. I love you, dearest."

Inuyasha could feel the caress on his cheek as his eyes fluttered shut, staring at his baby Izayoi.

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

Haha-ue - a term for one's own mother

* * *

 _Currently listening to: Unsteady - X Ambassadors (again)_


	10. J is for Jumped

**Alt Title: Kagome and Dark Alleyways Don't Mix Well**

Genre: Angst/Crime _(A strong T for very mild sexual harassment)_

Characters: Kagome, Inuyasha

Summary: Kagome should know better than to walk into dark places alone. Now Inuyasha has to rescue her... Again. Modern Gang AU.

* * *

 _A/N HOLY CRAP this was going to be a short chapter, but it was so much fun to write! I'm so sorry it's so long XD But hopefully you'll enjoy it. After writing it, I'm now thinking about making a story following it, or following a similar universe, for when I finish Kismet Blade (there's only a few more chapters left of it, hallelujah). What do you guys think, would you read a longer story like this? Also, I've no idea whether this is set in Tokyo or if it's in America. I seemed to slip in some sort of things (hopefully) that sort of feel like a big city in America, but again, I'm not sure._

 _ONTO A MORE SERIOUS NOTE, **this is the last chance you guys have to give me a prompt for letter "K** "; if I don't get anything, I'm going to go to my old friend (only friend) the dictionary and choose the first K word I set my finger on. Oh well. Have fun, don't die, love yourselves, and please leave a review! They give me life and keep me motivated XD Thanks to all of you who have left comments so far, love you guys. bYE, ENJOY._

 _..._

* * *

 **J**

 _Jumped_

* * *

 _It's been a long day_. Kagome sighed at the thought, glancing at her three friends chatting away animatedly. For the life of her, she could not figure out who or what they were talking about sometimes, despite having been best friends with them since they'd started middle school. Six years was a long time to get to know someone! But right now was one of those moments. She sighed again. Tuning them out had been a relatively easy thing to do, but the past ten minutes had been rather lonely.

Something buzzed in the pocket of her uniform jacket and she reached for it. It was a text message from her mother: _Hey honey, are you still on your way home?_

Unconsciously slowing her pace Kagome typed back: _Yeah why?_

A few moments later, an answer _: I forgot to grab milk at the store, and I'm kind of busy at the mo, lol You think you can get some and then pick your brother up at school? I wouldn't ask, but your grandfather is being..._

 _Gramps?_

 _Yep._

Pursing her lips and groaning inwardly at the impending detour from home that were these simple requests, Kagome answered: _Fiiiinnnneee, I guess I can. I'll see you later then, kk?_

 _Thanks baby. I'll see you later. Love love love!_

Pocketing her phone, Kagome looked around to see where her friends had gotten to. They had made it to the crosswalk, still somewhat absorbed by their conversation. A little hurt they hadn't waited for her, Kagome ran up to the three girls and explained the situation. They understood quickly enough, and Kagome was pretty fast getting on her way. A good thing, she supposed; she really wanted to get home… The sour thought continued to rattle around in her mind as she walked into the small store five minutes later, as she made her way to the back and the dairy section, as she carried the two cartons (and some snacks she felt she deserved) to the checkout line.

The dark thought bubble was, however, popped after a few long moments of standing by the sudden prickling she felt along her spine. She whipped around, staring. She'd just had that strange feeling that left the hairs of the back of her neck standing and her back tense; someone, she thought, had been watching her. Despite that unsettling feeling, and despite how she searched, she couldn't see anyone watching her. There were a few senior boys whom she vaguely recognized that were snickering at something on their phones as they picked out sodas from the fridges, a couple men wandering the short aisles, and a little old woman at a poker machine. But no eyes on her. She shook her head, disregarding the persisting feeling of unease.

She bought a cheap reusable bag to hold the cartons of milk to leave her other hand free as she walked. It was weighty but not overly heavy to carry, and she nearly forgot about it and her two ton backpack as she contented herself munching on some-odd candy bar she'd bought or another, her mind wandering. In her apathetic, zombified state, it was a near miracle she even noticed the small off road.

She actually stopped, looking down the way. It was well kept, the trash cans clean with their lids sitting on top and minimal weeds growing in the dirt. But it was dark. Very dark.

Something moved, making a few cans rattle and Kagome jump, before it settled. As though pulled forward by the invisible will of her curiosity, she took as step forward into the shade of the small, empty road, then another. A thousand thoughts ran through her head, from her wonderings of what could the source of the noise could have possibly been, to marveling at her stupidity of why on the wide blue earth she would be walking down a dark street. Alone.

She finally stopped halfway down the small street at the place where she thought she'd heard the disturbance. Save for a few glass bottles laying on their sides, there was nothing out of the ordinary. She turned around...

And yelped.

Or at least, she would have, but before she could do more than draw breath, it was knocked out of her as she was pushed roughly onto the ground. The bag of milk cartons fell to the ground, one of the containers breaking open on impact and letting its contents flow onto the ground. Kagome was left staring fuzzily up at three figures. They weren't particularly thuggish or muscled, but with their dress and from her position, she knew they were the members of a street gang.

One of the members knelt down in front of her. He had a cigarette dangling from his lips. With a smirk and low chuckle, he took a drag from the vile thing and blew smoke at her. She winced and grimaced at the smell. The man - who honestly couldn't have been much older than her she was, maybe twenty or twenty-one - settled his hand on Kagome's leg and turned to his fellows with a bark of laughter. "Oi, get a load of this, you guys. Looks like we got a Shikon High kid."

"Ya don't say?" sniggered the woman. She had a round face, a nose ring, and bright purple dreadlocks. "Don't see them around a lot do ya? Not ever since that one kid got killed in that fight."

"No kidding," said the third man, who looked to be a lizard demon of some sort. His grin revealed a row of sharp yellowing needle teeth. "Shame. Shikon kids usually got quite the pretty penny in pocket change."

"Not really, maybe a twenty if you're lucky," retorted the girl, turning to her demonic companion and elbowing him in the ribs. "I think you're thinking of those Hakurei High kids. Now _they're_ well off, ain't they?"

"Does it matter?" drawled the first man, taking another long draw from his cigarette before tossing it to the side. His gaze on Kagome became suddenly far more focused, more intense, even as he grinned wickedly and his hand began to move up her leg. He was… More _dangerous_. "Listen here, kid, if you wanna get home in one piece, I suggest that you hand over any cash or valuables you have on ya."

Kagome did nothing. The man shifted again, straightening his back. "You hear me?" he said gruffly, gaze narrowing. "Empty the backpack. Gimme your phone, gimme the cash in your pocket. I know you got at least a ten. Used it to pay for that milk in the store."

"It was you?" Kagome had at last found her voice. It was surprising to her how steady it was. She thought for sure it would have been more of a squeak than a statement, jumping along with her erratic heartbeat. The guy looked confused, his hand halfway up her skirt. She shoved it away, and he rocked back on his heels.

"Say what?"

"You were staring at me in the store?" Before the guy could do more than open his mouth to answer, the demon answered.

"No, honey, that was me," he snickered. "My eyes see most everything. I can see in the dark, through walls…" His already pointed grin grew pointier still as he added delicately, "Right through your clothes."

The two men laughed as Kagome wrapped her arms around her chest, face reddening. The girl with the purple dreads smacked her companion on the arm, looking unamused. "Obviously you can't see when to stop."

"Or when you _should_ be paying attention."

A new voice broke from up above them, making them all snap their gazes upward. Squatting on the railing of a fire escape was a young man in a red shirt, leather jacket, and grey beanie. A baseball bat rested on his shoulder, and his long white hair was rustling in the breeze. Kagome grinned in relief up at her furious, amber-eyed hero. "Inuyasha," she breathed.

"Oi, half-breed," spat out the demon, settling into a more offensive stance. "Scram, before things get ugly."

"Oh, but it's already ugly," Inuyasha barked back, jumping effortlessly down from his perch twenty feet up and strolling beside Kagome. His lips were pulled back in a snarl, and he tapped his baseball bat against his shoulder. "The moment you _touched_ her, it got ugly." He paused, looking around, then at Kagome, then back at the youkai. "The fact that I gotta see _your_ ugly mug don't help."

"Why you-!" The lizard demon, incensed, lunged forward, eyes blazing. Inuyasha side stepped him easily, looked disgusted as his bat came down across the back of the youkai's head with a sharp _crack_. Kagome scrambled away as he crumpled to the ground, barely avoiding being crushed under the scaly body.

His two companions leapt on Inuyasha with outraged cries of their own, but with a lazy flick of his wrist and the flashing light of the Sankon Tessou, they went flying into the metal garbage cans with thunderous crashes. There was a silence broken only by their groans as Inuyasha stepped over the youkai and lifted Kagome up. Her feet left the ground for a moment before he set her down, looking stern and annoyed. "Sorry," she mumbled, glancing down from his face.

"Ain't gonna cut it," he said gruffly, brushing past her and picking up her now thoroughly soaked bag. "Seriously Kagome, you gotta be more careful! I'm not gonna be around to save you all the time."

"But I'm okay right now," she said defensively, patting her chest and looking affronted. The hanyou turned to her and glared. She glared right back, now upset.

"Yeah, 'cause I was _here_ ," he huffed. "That's my _point_ , is that I _won't_ always be here. If I weren't, that guy-" he threw a nasty glance at the humans stirring in the pile of metal and trash behind him, "- would've had his hands all _over_ you by now, tryin' to claim ya or something."

"Jealous, much?" Kagome asked dryly. Inuyasha looked affronted, but his flushing cheeks gave him away. Kagome grinned in her head, but her face remained stony and tight-lipped. "You know I wouldn't let that happen, and even before then, we _both_ know you'd be here before then."

Inuyasha growled in frustration - a more human sounding noise than his normal selection of growls - and pushed the bag into Kagome's hands with a scowl. "Listen, stupid, I was here, yeah! _This_ time! This time is _not_ next time, though, so you're going to need to-"

The rest of his tirade was knocked out of him as something collided with his gut, forcing him to double over. It was the human guy's fist. With a furious yell, he swung his fist once again, clocking Inuyasha solidly on the jaw. The half demon stumbled backward, colliding with the brick wall behind him. Kagome shouted in alarm and mild fear. While she knew the hanyou was far too strong to let an ordinary human best him, it was still unnerving to see him getting punched over and over again. Feeling she needed to do something, she threw herself at the man, trying to hold his arm back. He threw her off easily, and she stumbled back, helplessly watching as another blow landed and Inuyasha doubled over once again, coughing.

The man, as though energized by his good fortune of so far besting the half demon, grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and his belt and chucked him. Inuyasha, off balance, tripped over his feet and fell, sprawled on the ground. Blood was oozing from a wound in his side that hadn't been there a moment before. "Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed, looking at the attacker's hands to see a switchblade he'd flicked open after he'd thrown her off. _He's fine. He's_ fine _. He's okay. He's strong. Just relax. Just stay calm. Just…_

With a little battle cry of her own, Kagome lunged at the man, who whipped around and blocked her feeble punch. She gasped, falling backwards, but the guy caught her and pulled her close to him. His rancid breath suddenly filled her nostrils, and she gagged against her will. His cold hands were sitting on a place she definitely did not want him touching. "If I ain't gettin' my money, I gotta get my kicks at least," he said hoarsely. Kagome, emboldened by her fear and the adrenaline suddenly rushing in her head, stiffened.

 _Smack!_

The sound of her hand hitting the soft, stubbly flesh of the guy's cheek echoed down the alley. Slowly, he raised a hand to the reddening spot, and she scrambled away, her back bumping against the brick wall. His stunned expression was slowly replaced by something that left her chilled to the bone with fear as he turned to face her, approaching with that dark, lascivious look. She flattened herself against the wall as he came closer, his companions getting to their own feet, looking to the prone Inuyasha, then to the scene before them. The man was chuckling. "You know," he said as he grabbed her chin and forced her to look into his repulsive face once again. "I like women who like to play rough."

"Wouldn't mess with you if I were on fire and you were the last bucket of water on Earth," she gagged. His gaze darkened, and he tightened his grip on her face. She couldn't help the little grunt escaping from the back of her throat.

"You're gonna regret that," he hissed, his eyes hardening in an instant. The guy couldn't take insults like that. He was close. Way too close. His fist was raised, his gaze set firm on her terrified face. She could smell his foul, smokey breath. _He's going to punch me. I gotta… I gotta..._ But before she could bring her knee up in self-defence, he pulled away with a shout of pain before falling to his knees. Inuyasha was on his feet again, his expression murderous and claws bloody. Five gashes had suddenly appeared on the attacker's back.

The hanyou crouched down beside the man, pulling his head back by his hair and said in the most bone-chilling, threatening growl Kagome had ever heard come from his throat, " _Touch her again, and I will kill you_." In a sudden show of his demonic strength, he lifted the dude into the air and flung him away. He landed several feet away with a gasp, before shakily pushing himself up with his arms and staring fearfully at the half demon. "Beat it!" Inuyasha barked after a moment where the three quailed under his amber glare. Scrambling unsteadily to their feet, their turned tail and ran. Silence settled on the alley.

"Inuyasha…" He turned to face her, his expression dark and unreadable. She stepped towards him.

"Did he hurt you?" he mumbled, taking her wrists and peering into her face.

"No," she breathed back. There was a shiny bruise already forming under his left eye, red and purple, and his lower lip was split open, blood welling up in a little crimson line.

"Good," he huffed, letting go of her hands. "Then let's get you home 'fore they come back with their friends." He took a step to leave, then fell to his knees with a muffled gasp.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome fell beside him. His face was twisted in a wry grimace of pain, and he was clutching the knife wound in his side. "Oh my gosh," she whispered, reaching for the hand on the wound. "Are you-"

"It's nothing," he grunted, making to stand back up. "We can take care of it at your place. We need to leave right _now_ , though."

He stood on his own, but didn't resist when Kagome wrapped her left arm around his chest (the highest she could reach and still support him), using her right hand to steady his right arm. The light of the street was a surgical white after the dimness of that alley, now covered in blood, garbage, and destroyed groceries. She suppressed a shudder as they stood at the edge of the dirt before the concrete sidewalk, looking back at the damage. "Inuyasha?"

"Hmm," he grunted in acknowledgement, eyes not leaving the scene. She bit her lip.

"We… We gotta get Souta from the middle school before we can head home… I promised mama would, but if you're hurting too bad, I would hate to force you to come with-"

" _Keh_! It's just a little pain, Kagome. I'm not dying, idiot."

"Are you sure?"

"Well I gotta protect you right now anyway."

"But are you sure?"

" _Yes_ , woman, I'm sure!"

She nodded, looking back down the little street that had caused so many problems in only ten short minutes. "Okay then. And… Inuyasha?"

He turned to look at her now, his annoyance visible in his eyes. " _What_?" The look melted away into one of shocked bafflement as Kagome stood on her toes and kissed him. It was a quick, chaste little thing, but it left him hanging with his mouth wide open when she pulled away.

"Thanks…"

It had been a long day.

A very, very long day.

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Youkai - a demon or spirit

Sankon Tessou - "Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer"

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

* * *

 _Currently listening to: Vagabond - MisterWives (it's really good. Fit's Inuyasha's character)_


	11. K is for Kaleidoscope

**Alt Title: Keep Turning My Life Around**

Genre: General/Romance?

Characters: Inuyasha, Kagome

Summary: That girl had done something to him...

* * *

 _A/N This is a pretty short chapter. I was kind of struggling today with writing XD I have the idea in my head and a lotta phrases, but getting them down onto the page is something else. That and this was just an odd sense of imagery and I kinda didn't want to write Inukag, but it was the only thing that really fitted the story. HNNNNNGGg. Oh well. Thanks to for the prompt XD_

 _ **I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU GUYS LISTEN TO THE SONG "KALEIDOSCOPE" BY A GREAT BIG WORLD WHILE READING:** the lyrics are the first part of the "story", and I listened to it the entire time I wrote. It's a really good song, I'm so glad I stumbled upon it while I started writing XD As ever. have fun, don't die, love yourselves, PLEASE leave a review, and enjoy this really lazy chapter XD I apologize  
_

 _..._

* * *

 **K**

 _Kaleidoscope_

* * *

" _My life. My life was black and white and I believed it. I believed it. My eyes. My eyes looked at the world but couldn't see it. I couldn't see it._ _You're like the thing that makes the universe explode._ _Into the colors of a world I've never known. You keep turning, keep turning my life around. Violets and purples, diamonds and circles, you're my kaleidoscope. I love every minute, you've got me in it."_

" _You're my kaleidoscope"_

 _..._

At one point, his life was black and white. Those were the only colors, where lights and shades.

It wasn't like it was his fault. Or at least, not entirely. People hated him. Demons hated him. People feared him. Demons were disgusted by him. Everyone tried to kill him. So what was he supposed to do besides not trust his soul to anyone, to put up barriers and fight for his very life?

So he lived like that. The only color came from his robes and the silent woods. He couldn't appreciate the fact that he was living, couldn't appreciate humanity and love, because he was so often chased down, hunted, disassociated from humans and youkai alike. No matter how his heart may have secretly yearned for it, he had no place. So he made one for himself. Alone. A silent, solitary world of white, gold, red, and black. Lights, shadows, loneliness, and bloodshed.

He had been instilled with a strong sense of morality from his mother, but that was before she'd died. He had at one point been a kind, compassionate child, but that was before he learned that the world was cruel, hard place when you were a half demon. He had been filled with hope. Now, his only emotions were the smoldering ill-will he held for mankind and his unadmitted sense of cold solitude. He couldn't see the love and compassion in the eyes of mankind.

Then he thought he'd found it in the eyes of a beautiful miko. She was… So like _him_. She was human, but she wasn't one of them, being the protector of the Shikon no Tama. She was kind, but she wanted to be free from the world's perceptions of her. She was a lonely soul looking for someone like her. And she thought he was that someone. After that, for a little while his world started to turn grey, with pink and yellow hues.

Before she betrayed him.

The world became dark. Black and bloody and devoid of anything.

Then another someone came along.

This woman - though she was hardly a woman, he'd think spitefully in the beginning - was also so much like him. But it was infuriating! She was brash, and loud, and headstrong, and confused. Her free will ran rampant and her sense of morality was something so _odd_ to him after so long of having nearly none. She was emotional, and she was hopeless in battle, and she was helpless, and she was weak, and she was kind, and she was… She was…

He could hardly believe it now. She was truly the only person he'd trusted, fully trusted, since his mother. And when she opened up his trust, broke through those barriers around his being, she turned his world upside down with life and color. She gave him a family and friends he would have never before dared to dream about before. She gave him back that hope for morning, that greater meaning in the world. She gave him back his compassion, his mercy, his hope, his happiness, his light, his _humanity_ like the miko never could. He was still in a place all his own in the world, but he wasn't alone anymore. She'd seen something in him other than the demon or the human, stood by him in turmoil and anger, weathered the storm with him.

Nobody had done that for him before. Nobody had sacrificed themselves so much as this girl. This infuriating, impulsive, wonderful, crazy, beautiful girl, who turned his life around.

...

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Miko - a Shinto shrine maiden; "priestess"

Shikon no Tama - the Sacred Jewel; the Jewel of Four Souls

* * *

 _Currently listening to: Kaleidoscope - A Great Big World  
_


	12. L is for Lemonade

**Alt Title: Miroku's Got Some Advice**

Genre: Humor

Characters: Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippo

Summary: Inuyasha's managed to annoy Kagome again, but Miroku's has some advice on how to apologize.

* * *

 _A/N Fun fact of the day: When I opened the dictionary to choose the word, it landed on... "Lemon". Yeah, that would have given the very wrong impression, hahhah. BUT I have standards, and unfortunately, I am NOT under ANY circumstances be writing lemons, limes, smut, generally citrus of any kind. So I changed it to ""Lemonade" instead.  
_

 _Hopefully this chapter makes up for the sub-standard one last time. It was fun to write. I promise I will write something other than Inukag, I've got all the chapters planned out XD FYI, this takes place in a universe where either the Infant did not get cut in half (yet) to form the Infant and Hakudoshi, Mouryomaru does not exist (yet), or there's just a LOT more Jewel shards. They've been traveling for about two years now, and their relationships have progressed. Not to what they are in the future, but they've progessed. ANYWHO, have fun, don't die, remember yourselves, love yourselves, LEAVE A REVIEW (feed this hungry artist's souuuullll), and enjoy!_

 _..._

* * *

 **L**

 _Lemonade_

* * *

The inutachi watched in fascination as Kagome took various futuristic tools from her bag, setting them in a neat line on the grass. They were all sitting beside the Bone Eater's Well. It was a warm day, with a slight breeze that made the temperature just perfect for sitting in the sun, which they were. They were all taking a much needed break from shard hunting (though Inuyasha grumbled and complained about it so much they could hardly call it a rest) to enjoy the fact that they were still alive, even two years into their search for the rest of the Shikon no Tama.

Kagome, in a celebratory frame of mind and realizing with a start that her friends had never tried it, was making them freshly squeezed lemonade. They were all familiar with lemons - there were groves dotted here and there through the land - but none of them had thought to ever combine it with water and sugar… Or something else sweet, should they not have access to sugar cane. Kagome had brought her own ingredients for the sake of simplicity.

"Simplicity" was, however, a relative term she realized as Miroku picked up the little metal juicer. "What does this do Kagome?" he questioned lightly, admiring the thing from all angles. She plucked it from his hands and set it over the top of the glass jar she was using to catch the juice.

"It's called a juicer," she said, demonstrating its purpose by clipping the tool to the top of her glass jar and twisting the lemon half in her hand. The monk vocalized his appreciation, smiling indulgently. Inuyasha scoffed.

"And how's _that_ gonna help us find the Jewel Shards, again?" he asked acidly. With that tone, he could have been a lemon himself. Kagome rolled her eyes and glared at him. He looked away, fidgeting uncomfortably under her gaze. She returned to her work.

"It'll be yummy, I promise," she said lightly as she poured sugar from a plastic container into the glass jar, now filled with the juice of something like twenty lemons. Inuyasha gave her a skeptical look that was about as sour as the juice. She ignored it, but stopped with a little gasp.

"What is it Kagome?" Sango asked as her friend started looking around and around, by her legs, by her backpack, in the grass.

"I forgot to grab cups," the girl groaned after a moment. With a sigh she hoisted herself to her feet and slipped on her shoes which she had taken off. "I'm going to head home and grab some real quick."

"Like hell you are!" barked the grumpy inu-hanyou from where he sat cross-legged with his hands folded into his kimono. "You just got back number one, and number two, we should be on the road looking for jewel shards, not making ' _lemon aides'_."

"First of all, it's 'lemonade', and second, just you try and stop me!" Kagome clipped back, arms akimbo as she glared down at the infuriating boy. "I'm being nice here making this special treat I think you all least you could do is let me finish the job."

"I can stop you anytime I want!" Inuyasha leapt to his feet and reached forward to grab Kagome's arm. Before he could do much more, Kagome's eyes went wide, and she took a deep breath. The entire inutachi - save Inuyasha, who realized only too late - realized what was going to happen seconds before it did.

" _Osuwari_!"

With an unflattering shriek, Inuyasha's face went crashing into the ground as the Beads of Subjugation were activated. Gazing dispassionately at the half demon, Kagome swung her leg over the lip of the Well and turned back to the rest of her friends. "If you want, you guys can add a little water to the lemonade so it's not so strong. I'll be right back."

She jumped into the Well. Inuyasha, struggling against the power of the Beads, attempted to follow when with a sharp _crack_ , Miroku swung his staff over his head. "Oh no you don't," he chided when Inuyasha yelped again. "You've upset Lady Kagome enough for a while. It's a wonder she's even here today after that little stunt you pulled yesterday."

"Shut up! It's not _my_ fault I have to fight that mangy wolf every time he comes around to flirt with Kagome!" shot back the hanyou, rubbing the little growing lump on his head. There was dirt and grass all over his indignant face from kissing the dirt.

"Inuyasha, you know Kagome doesn't love Kouga," sighed little Shippo. He had been chasing crickets and bugs in the bushes when he heard the steadily increasing volume of the conversations, and scrambled over to investigate. "Honestly, I'd thought you'd've know that by now. She isn't kissing and hugging you all the time for _nothing_ , after all."

"This is true," chuckled the monk.

"Sh-shut up!"

They did so for a few long moments. "I bet Kagome's going to be back in a minute," Sango noted. Miroku and Shippo nodded. Inuyasha huffed. She looked significantly at him. "You should apologize to her."

" _Keh_. And how do you suggest I do _that_ , huh?"

"Allow me to impart a small gem of wisdom to you, Inuyasha," started Miroku, straightening and grinning. Sango shot him a strange, narrowed gaze. "Relax, my dear Sango. It's nothing inappropriate." He turned back to Inuyasha, who was staring at his friend with a cynical eyebrow raised. "But I was going to say that women _do_ enjoy the occasional show of affection."

Sango smacked him on the arm, scowling. Inuyasha flushed with another scoff. It sounded oddly forced. "Like I'd say that _mushy_ stuff to _Kagome_ ," he groused, turning away and shutting his eyes as though attempting to seem more dignified. The effect was ruined somewhat by his red face.

"That, and you're not exactly well versed in showing the right kind of affection, houshi-sama," Sango quipped. She wasn't exactly right. The monk had a reputation of womanizing, or at least being a compulsive flirt, but in the past two years he had become far more mellow, his episodes few and far between. He chuckled and stood, offering his free hand to Sango.

"Regardless, you fail to deny the fact,' he said cheerily when she allowed herself to be pulled up, twirling her in a circle as he did so. Not expecting the little thing, Sango stumbled a little bit, bumping into the monk, but grinning in somewhat embarrassed pleasure. He turned and winked at the still seated Inuyasha. "My dearest Sango, would you care to accompany me to the water barrel and get some water for Kagome?"

She blushed, but nodded her assent, threading her arm through his and making their way down the grassy hill, muttering, "Keep your hands to yourself though."

"Hey, I'm coming too!" Shippo called. He did not want to be anywhere near Kagome or Inuyasha when she returned, knowing that they were sure to fight. "Wait for me!" He bounded off after the monk and taijiya, leaving Inuyasha alone with a glass jar of half made lemonade.

When Kagome returned with cups a couple minutes later, he was still sitting there, looking thoughtful and somewhat embarrassed. Kagome's curiosity was so piqued that she forgot about being angry with him as she set the cups down by her bag and crouched beside him.

"Hey," she said quietly, tilting her head to the side and looking into his face. He glanced at her, then looked away again. His cheeks were oddly pink, and he seemed to be chewing something. Maybe his tongue. "What's up with you? Where did the others go?"

"Water," he grunted. Kagome nodded, and he turned his body so they were face to face. He swallowed, looking nervous. "So uh… Miroku said something while you were gone-"

"Something disgusting, I'm guessing," Kagome interrupted, cringing a little with disgust. Inuyasha shook his head.

"No, no, it actually wasn't," he continued. He coughed. "Uh, but it's got me thinking that, uhh… I, uh…" Kagome blinked, her face blank, and he turned away, his face reddening again. "I uh… Guess I owe you… An… An apology."

He said the last few words very quickly, looking down in mild shame so that his hair covered his eyes. Kagome blinked once again in surprise. "No, you're okay, actually," she said, then leaned forward and pressed her hand against his forehead. "Are you sick or something?"

"What? No!" he looked affronted, pulling her hand away from his face. He didn't let it go, though, and continued with a sigh. "I just… I'm worried about Naraku. There can't possibly be more than a dozen more jewel shards out there, and if he gets to them before us…" He grimaced. Kagome noticed one of his fangs (she would never call them "little" fangs out loud) was poking out over his bottom lip. "Yeah. I'm… I'm sorry, I guess."

Kagome smiled at him, peering into his face with bright, brown eyes. "It's okay," she said, tapping him on the nose and then resting her hand on his cheek. "I know why you're worried. I'm worried too. That's why I thought we all just needed to take a break, enjoy living just in case we… You know."

"Yeah." Inuyasha grinned back. His eyes suddenly became half lidded. "And… Speaking about enjoying living… Miroku _did_ mention something else."

"Uh oh," Kagome snorted, raising and eyebrow and making to pull away. He leaned in closed, grin turning somewhat wolfish despite being a dog demon.

"He also suggested that to apologize, I do something… _Affectionate_ ," he said huskily,his voice barely hiding a snigger. Kagome wanted to laugh as well, partly because Inuyasha was following Miroku's advice, partly from her own nervousness.

"Oh, were you planning something or… Something?" she attempted to tease. The words sounded stupid even in her own head, and doubly worse coming out her mouth.

"Only if you'll let me," he joked, grinning even wider when Kagome returned her hand to his face.

"Bring it on, dog boy," she laughed. They were a breath away when she added jokingly, "By the way I'm still mad at you."

"I believe you."

His mouth tasted like lemons.

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Inutachi - the group consisting of Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo; often translated to "Inuyasha and co." in the manga

Shikon no Tama - the Sacred Jewel; the Jewel of Four Souls

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

Kimono - a loose, wide sleeved robe or shirt, usually tied around the middle

Osuwari - the "sit" command used for a dog; "Sit, boy!"

Houshi-sama - a respectful term for a monk; Sango's name for Miroku

* * *

 _Currently listening to: One of Us - New Politics  
_


	13. M is for Magnolias

**Alt Title: (None) Magnolias**

Genre: Friendship/General

Characters: Inuyasha, Kagome

Summary: "What does a magnolia mean, Inuyasha?" Kagome loves her job in the flower shop. Not so much her co-worker.

* * *

A/N A long while ago, I read the fic "Drawing Flowers" by Inunanna, and I am absolutely in love with it; not only was it a lovely Inukag longshot/oneshot, but it also included my own personal love for Floriculture/Horticulture and drawing/art. At the moment, along with that gang story in "J is for Jumped", I am planning to write a flower shop AU one shot. This is an excerpt from it.

As ever, have fun, lover yourselves, don't die, please leave a review, and thanks for all the nice reviews so far. I love all of you XD So enjoy this edited excerpt of a future ficlet-

...

* * *

 **M**

 _Magnolias_

* * *

There was something about working in a little flower shop.

It was sort of silly, but to high school senior Kagome, it was so true. She loved the chilly flower refrigerator in the middle of the building, with its hundreds of crisp petaled flowers. She loved the back rooms with the boxes of vases and corsage wristlets. She loved the smell of the dirt for the live plants, and the feeling of sliding the first piece of leatherleaf into a soaked foam block. She didn't love being the one to take out the three ton bags of flower clippings when the trash cans were full, but she did love being the only one left alone before closing, free to wander and smell.

Of course, there were the downsides of working for the flower shop, besides being the one to so often take out the trash. One, she was rarely allowed to work on orders alone as a new employee. Two, she still messed up with the names of flowers or arrangements or things of the like very much. And three, there was a certain gruff, violent, silver haired, dog-eared hanyou who worked the same shift as she did.

Inuyasha wasn't all that bad, Kagome knew. He loved the job as much as she did, and he was good at it too. She knew he had a few friends, even considering herself a friend, and the boss loved him, and he could be nice when he wanted. But he and Kagome seemed to get into arguments over the pettiest things, like whether it was too hot or cold in the building, who would take the order for the guy waiting at the front counter, whether a flower should go here or there in an arrangement.

Stupid things.

However, now was not one of those times. Inuyasha and Kagome were standing side by side at one of the tables, making an very expensive, very flamboyant vase that a pompous man had ordered the other day.

"Honestly, what's your job gotta be to be able to afford something like this?" Inuyasha said incredulously as he adjusted the greenery in the tape grid over the lip of the vase.

"Uhh, plastic surgeon?" Kagome said, pulling the first orange lily away from the bunch on the table to put it into the vase. "CEO. Software developer."

"Pharmacist," chuckled the half demon, reaching over his younger co-worker to pick up a lily himself. "Actuary."

"Good one," Kagome laughed, placing a third lily and writing down the amount on the list. "Know what, I'd _die_ if I were an actuary. I hate all that math and crap."

"Good thing you're here with flowers then," mumbled the half demon as he started adding red carnations. "Only gotta deal with addition and multiplying and stuff like that."

"Even then," Kagome chuckled, letting the thought trail off. There was a comfortable silence as they continued to add flowers. "You know what the guy bought this for?" she asked after a moment. Inuyasha pursed his lips.

"No clue. Never mentioned it," he said at last, scribbling down the flower count again.

"Did he know what flowers he wanted?"

"Not really." He physically stopped, looking thoughtful. "Actually…"

"What?"

He turned to her. "He actually did specifically request that we add the magnolias."

"Really?" Kagome asked, raising her eyebrows in mild surprise. "Weird. You know why?"

"I already _said_ I had no clue," said Inuyasha snappishly. Kagome frowned, sensing impending conflict, and she really wasn't in the mood to fight him right now. Honestly, she'd have thought that a twenty year old would have been mature enough not to argue about petty things with a high schooler. A sudden thought struck her.

"There's got to be a reason why he wanted magnolias. What do they mean?" she asked, smiling up at the grumpy hanyou. Her smile faltered once again at the look he gave her, like he was asking ' _are you really this stupid?_ ' without ever opening his mouth.

"They usually mean something like dignity, nobility, femininity," he said, turning back to scribble something on the tally paper and then reach for another flower.. Then he paused, giving her another darkly significant look. "Basically nothing you've got."

That was uncalled for. "H _-hey_! You big jerk!"

"Oh, shut up, you're yelling in my ear. You should _know_ I'm just kidding _,_ stupid." He looked like he regretted nothing, ginning unabashedly and taking a deep sniff at the air.

"Why you-"

"Magnolias," he cut in, looking away at her furious glower with that same self-indulgent smile, "Can also mean something along the lines of… Well, they're dang tough flowers. They grow all over, in all sorts of weather. They're pretty, but they're strong. Been around for millions of years. Not a lot of flowers like that in the world."

"So?" she asked sourly, shoving the magnolia into its place.

Inuyasha took another deep breath. His eyes fluttered a little. "So," he said after a moment, "It's supposed to represent… Strength. Endurance. Long life..." He looked at her a long time. "Forever, basically."

"Oh." Her voice was small and odd sounding. The look her co-worker was giving her made her squirm with an odd discomfort. He turned away.

"So if the guy knew that," he continued as though nothing had happened, "Maybe he's giving it to his wife or something."

"You ever do something like that?" Kagome asked gently.

The half demon turned to her, looking concerned. "Done what?"

"Nothing," she said quickly. "Just… If you've ever done anything… _Romantic_ like that. Like have you ever had a girlfriend and sent her flowers like that."

Inuyasha continued to stare. There was something that seemed to wilt in his expression, becoming bitter. He turned away and mumbled, "Once. Never again." He shoved a third magnolia into the vase. "I gotta do something," he said in a low tone, brushing his hands against his apron. "You finish this."

She had no clue what on earth could have been running through his head as he walked away. "Oh… Okay then."

She couldn't help but notice the magnolia he took with him.

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

* * *

 _Currently listening to: I'm Still Here - John Rzeznik_


	14. N is for Ninja

**Alt Title: Bullies**

Genre: Humor/Hurt/Comfort

Characters: Kagome, Mama Higurashi, Inuyasha, Souta

Summary: Souta's being bullied, but not if Kagome has a say in it. It helps that Inuyasha's there to help. (modern AU)

* * *

 _A/N I saw some sketches of skater boy Keith (from Voltron) and later some sketches of skater boy Inuyasha, and the images have just stuck with me. I love the concept too much. This was a LOT of fun to write, and hopefully with how long it is, it's a good apology for not updating over the weekend XD I was busy. My grandpa's old, old, old. Oh, and this was influenced by some random Tumblr post I saw and I just LOVED it, but that's where Inuyasha being crazy and ninja-like came from.  
_

 _As ever, have fun, don't die, love yourselves, don't do drug coz drugs are bad, and PLEASE leave a review! Enjoy!_

 _..._

* * *

 **N**

 _Ninja_

* * *

"You can't be serious. Souta? Of all people?"

Kagome's fish came to a stuttering stop halfway from her plate to her mouth as she gaped at her mother at the sink. The older woman turned from the rinsed plates and cups, drying her hands and nodding darkley. "The school seems to think so," she said solemnly, kneeling down opposite her daughter. "They called me last night and told me their suspicions, at least."

"But… Souta?" Kagome repeated weakly, remembering her food and chewing the fish. "Of all people, I would have thought he'd be the absolute _last_ to be bullied…"

"I think it's something to do with that little girl he liked," said her mother, resting her chin in her hands. "He went up to her, told her he liked her, and got rejected. Then she went home and told her older brother and… Well, you know how much older kids like to pick on younger ones.."

"But… Still…" Kagome didn't know what else to say and let the silence speak for her. Her little brother was one of the most kind, innocent, precious children she knew, and that wasn't even because she was biased being his sister. It was simply the truth. And the thought that anyone would be mean to him over anything made her as angry as…

"Is there something you want me to do?" she asked softly, looking back up at her mother. The woman looked mildly surprised.

"It's probably not a good idea to get involved," she said slowly.

"Too late," sighed the girl, taking another bite of food. "It's not like the school's going to do anything about it."

"Your point?" said Kagome's mother, avoiding beating around the bush any longer and staring fixedly on her daughter. Kagome grinned sheepishly.

"Well, it's just that now that you told me, you got me worried. And… Mom, Souta's my little brother. If I have to go to this bully and punch him in the head myself, I'd do it in a heartbeat." Her gaze darkened. "I just can't stand to the side when I know I can do something."

"And when you say 'I', you really mean…"

Kagome grinned. "You know it." The two smiled self indulgently at each other before Kagome turned back to her breakfast.

"Were you planning on meeting him before you and the girls head out to town?" her mother asked, watching her daughter carefully.

"He's going to come pick me up, actually," Kagome said cheerily, turning to the entryway. "I managed to convince him to go with us to the mall after we take Souta to the park to see his friends. Took a lot of bribery."

"I was wondering why all the instant ramen was gone," chuckled the older woman. "You could have just asked, I'd have gotten some at the store for you." Kagome shrugged and swallowed the last of her food.

She bumped around the house for only a few minutes after she cleaned her dishes when the doorbell rang, and she almost ran to get it before her mother. " _There_ you are," she said in a teasingly annoyed tone, opening the door without looking at who she was opening it for. "I've been waiting for-"

"Good morning, Higurashi." Kagome froze, looking at the young man standing at the door. It was Hojo. And he was holding a gigantic fruit basket.

"Oh, uh…" She was lost for words, suddenly embarrassed at jumping to conclusions. "Hi there, Hojo. Uh, do you… Do you want to come in?" She sincerely hoped not.

"Sure," he grinned. Kagome's returning smile was more of a pained grimace. He didn't notice, of course, instead lugging the huge fruit basket with him into the house. "I won't be long. I just wanted to drop off this fruit basket for you. My mother set me out on deliveries and I thought you'd like to get yours personally." Hojo's mother ran a small business which sent people fresh fruits and vegetables, and Kagome's mother had recently signed up to receive the bi-weekly baskets.

"Oh, thanks, Hojo-kun," Kagome said with a lost little chuckle. The boy beamed, obviously taking the dry laugh for the cute, shy giggle of a girl with a little crush. He couldn't have been more wrong, of course, but he didn't need to know that.

"My pleasure, Higurashi," he said in that silly, chipper tone of his whenever he was around her. He set the gigantic basket on the kitchen counter, acknowledged Mrs. Higurashi's thanks, and turned to leave. Kagome closed the door behind him with a strained smile and a wave.

"He's a sweetheart," said Mrs. Higurashi when her daughter returned to the kitchen. She was looking through the basket, taking stock of the vegetables and fruits that this week brought.

"Yeah, I guess he is," shrugged Kagome, coming to stand beside her mother and looking into the basket herself.

Mrs. Higurashi gave her daughter a significant look. "And he has a job."

Kagome raised an eyebrow at her mother. "Your point?"

"You're sure you don't like him even a little bit, dear?"

" _Yes_ , mama, I'm sure. He's a sweet guy and all, but he's not for me." Mrs. Higurashi nodded. There was a knock on the door. Kagome nearly ran to the door once again, and this time it was exactly who she was expecting.

"Yo," greeted Inuyasha, strolling into the house and sniffing curiously. "Sorry I'm late. Bus came later than I thought."

"It's alright," Kagome said with a relieved smile.

"Who was here?" asked the half demon, shoving his clawed hands into his pockets and sniffing the air once again with a darkening expression.

"Hojo-kun," Kagome answered simply.

"Oh. What was his excuse this time?"

"Work. He was dropping off our basket."

"Basket?" he asked, looking suddenly curious.

"Fruits and veggies," Kagome answered, patting his arm as she brushed past him. "Here, come look."

They entered the kitchen. looked up from her scrutinizing to smile at Inuyasha. "Hello, Inuyasha dear," she said kindly.

"Morning, Mrs. Higurashi," greeted the hanyou, shoving his hands deeper into his pocket and smiling. Kagome nudged him towards the fresh produce. They admired the zucchinis and the turnips and the peaches for a few moments before calling Kagome's little brother from the living room.

Souta grinned up at Inuyasha. "Hiya, Inu-no-nii-chan." The half demon gave the kid a wide, toothy smile, chuckling at the nickname. At first, he had been somewhat flustered by it, but he had become very fond of it in the past few months.

"Hey kid," answered Inuyasha, ruffling the kid's hair before shoving his hands back into the pockets of his jeans. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah!" Souta said excitedly, running for the door.

"Ohh no you don't," Kagome said, grabbing the back of Souta's hoodie as he began to run past and jerking him back. "You are not going outside with your hair like that."

"I don't see what's wrong with it," Inuyasha asked, raising a dark eyebrow and looking appraisingly at the boy's ruffled black hair. "He's just gonna mess it up anyway."

Kagome glared at him. They ended up running a wet comb through the boy's hair before making their way outside. They paused a moment while Inuyasha picked up his skateboard leaning against the house before making their way to the road.

The park was a ten minute walk from the house, but it passed by quickly. Inuyasha sped past them on his skateboard once or twice before waiting for them to catch up. Souta smiled appreciatively when the half demon bodily picked Kagome up and set her on the skateboard, leading her down the sidewalk by her hand and smiling when she started giggling. He might have been young, but he knew that his sister and her friend had something special. She let go of his hand and propelled herself forward before losing her balance. Souta watched excitedly as Inuyasha leapt forward with that incredible half demon speed and caught her before she hit the ground.

The rest of the way was spent with Inuyasha muttering darkly under his breath about how clumsy she was, even though he held her hand while they walked.

The park was rather quieter than one would have thought for a Saturday morning, but nobody was complaining. That just meant there was more time on the swings, fewer screaming distractions, and an altogether more relaxing experience. Inuyasha and Kagome made their way over to two of the empty swings and sat down, Kagome rocking back and forth a little bit.

"So," she said after a few moments of silently watching her little brother leap onto the monkey bars. "Are you excited?"

"For what?" asked her friend. She took a moment to admire him, lounging on the swing with his baseball cap in hand so his fuzzy dog ears stood straight, and long white hair blew in the breeze. He was wearing that baggy red and white t-shirt, skinny jeans, and old beat up Vans, one of which rested on his equally old and scuffed up, but much loved skateboard which he had jokingly named Tetsusaiga the year he got it.

Kagome had liked the name so much, it ended up sticking. He even bought black vinyl and carefully stuck the name onto the bottom of the board. She smiled appreciatively. He really was a pretty boy. Not that she'd ever say that to his face. Or maybe she would, just to make him all flustered and because she was mean that way.

"Going to the mall," she said, somewhat belatedly when he turned to fix her with a half closed golden eye at her long silence.

" _Keh_!" he scoffed, closing his eyes and turning away. "As if. I'm only going 'cause you'd keep bugging me until I said yes."

"I'll chalk that up as a win," she chuckled. He rolled his eyes in return, bouncing his knee with his ears flicking here and there above his mass of unruly hair in obvious agitation. Not only did he not like losing, even if it was to Kagome, but there were flies and kids running and screaming and the nasty, metallic smell of public jungle gyms, none of which did anything to help him relax. Nor did the sudden cry of fear and pain which made both girl and hanyou tense and look around in alarm. Souta was running towards them, teary-eyed with his hands scuffed and bloody. The acrid smell made Inuyasha wrinkle his nose, but it didn't stop him or Kagome from rushing forward, leaving the chains of the plastic swings clinking in a frenzy.

"Souta!" Kagome said, gripping his arms and brushing the dark hair out of his face. "Souta, Souta, Souta, calm down." The boy took a deep, shuddering breath in an attempt to get ahold of himself.

"Let me see your hands, buddy," said Inuyasha, taking his smaller fingers in his far larger, clawed ones. They were covered in blood and playground gravel. "Ah, you're okay," he said gruffly, giving the boy a relaxed grin. "You're tougher than that, yeah?"

Souta gave a huge sniff and nodded. Inuyasha let his hands go, then took Kagome's arm so she would let her brother go as well. She did so, biting her lip. "What happened?" she asked.

He sniffed again and said in a small voice, "Got pushed."

"Pushed?" Inuyasha felt a ripple of concern as he watched Kagome's soft brown eyes harden. "By who? Who pushed you?" He looked down, silent. "Who pushed you, Souta?" she asked more insistently.

"Takeo," he said in barely more than a whisper.

"Is he the one who was bullying you?" Inuyasha looked at his friend in alarm. Souta was being bullied?

"Yeah…"

"Why? When did this start?"

Souta wiped his nose on his sleeve. "After Hitomi said she didn't like me, her big brother started pushing me…"

"Where is this kid?" Kagome said, a steely edge to her voice. Souta pointed to someone behind him, standing under a tree. Kagome felt a sudden flame of fury; this wasn't a kid. This was a young man, around her age and far bigger. A high school student, picking on an eight year old! Without a word, Kagome got to her feet and made to move.

"Woah woah woah woah woah," Inuyasha said, jumping to his own feet and grabbing her arm. He knew exactly what was going through her head, and he wasn't going to let her do it. "What do you think you're going?"

"Let me go, Inuyasha," she said acidly, yanking her arm away. "I've got something to deal with."

"No no no, you're not going to do that," said the hanyou firmly, making to stand right in front of the girl. "You'll get crushed."

"Move, Inuyasha!" she said in a louder voice, pushing him in the chest. He caught her wrists. "Let me go!"

"No," he growled. "I'm not letting you go, 'cause _I'm_ going to deal with this guy."

Kagome stopped trying to yank her hands away. Without a word, he turned and started walking. "Both of you come along," he called over his shoulder. In an instant, Kagome and Souta were by his side.

"Hey pipsqueak," said the young man when they approached, looking at Souta. "Brought mommy and daddy along this time, did you?"

"Number one, we're not his parents," Kagome said cuttingly, throwing out her hip and crossing her arms, looking scathing. "Number two, have you no shame? Picking on an elementary school kid!"

"Yeah, and what you going to do about it, little girl?" asked Takeo, folding his arms and rising and eyebrow as well in a mocking manner. Kagome bristled.

"Inuyasha, will you please…" She stopped, looking around. But Inuyasha wasn't there. "Inuyasha?"

"Lose your boyfriend?" asked Takeo dryly.

"He's not my-"

"No, she didn't," came Inuyasha's voice from behind Takeo. Before he could turn around, the hanyou had twisted his arm into a hold. "You know, it's pretty pathetic, picking on little kids, you jerk."

"Wh-what the hell?" said Takeo, grunting a little when Inuyasha's hold tightened. "What are you doing?"

Instead of answering, Inuyasha grinned wickedly. His fangs seemed far more pointed than usual as he chuckled. "Look at the kid," he said. Takeo did so. "Now look at the girl. She's kind of pretty, ain't she?" Kagome felt her face warming, watching the two. "Now look back at the kid. He's got blood on his hands. You caused that."

Without warning, he let go of the jerk's arm and leapt silently into the tree. "Now look up." Takeo did so, stumbling back when he saw the half demon sitting relaxedly on a bough. "Look back at the girl. Look back at me. I'm not in the tree anymore, I'm behind you. Look at your feet. Your shoes are untied. Now look back at the kid. He's wearing your hat."

Kagome and Souta, taken aback by this strange form of revenge, had begun to laugh by now. Laugh at the absurdity of it all, laugh at Takeo's bamboozled and somewhat frightened expression, laugh as Inuyasha strolled leisurely back to them. Takeo took a step forward, but tripped over his tied shoelaces and tumbling to the ground right in front of Inuyasha. Smiling somewhat cruelly, the silver-haired hanyou crouched down and gazed at the bully struggling to his knees.

"Listen here, buddy," said the half demon dryly, staring into the human's face with those odd amber eyes. "You just got humiliated in front of a dozen little kids and their protectors. Had any of those kids been pushed like you did Kagome's little brother, they would have done the exact same thing to you." He paused, flicking his ears and looking thoughtful. "Well, maybe not the _exact_ same thing," he amended. Takeo felt a sudden shiver of fear run up his spine as the half demon's gaze darkened and he stood. "But if you come anywhere near Souta again, you won't have me to answer to. You'll have Kagome. And trust me, she won't hesitate to get violent."

Takeo scrambled to his feet, stumbling away and tripping over his feet.

Still chortling, Kagome turned to her friend with shining eyes. "Thanks, Inuyasha," she said, hugging him.

" _Keh_! Was nothin'." Souta watched curiously as the half demon's face turned pink and his gaze darted here and there until Kagome pulled away. He went to brush the hair out of his face.

"Wh… Hey, when did I get his hat!"

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Inu-no-nii-chan - Souta's name for Inuyasha; literally "dog brother"

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

Tetsusaiga - Inuyasha's sword in the canon (but it's his skateboard here)

* * *

 _Currently listening to: 12 Days of Christmas - Straight No Chaser (it's hilarious)  
_


	15. O is for Obstinate

**Alt Title: Stubborn Fools**

Genre: General/Humor

Characters: Kaede

Summary: Honestly, they were all so stubborn...

...

* * *

 _A/N Sorry for this crappy chapter. I really wasn't too motivated to write this chapter XD I don't know why. And I'm sorry it's late! I promise I was busy busy, no time to write. Christmas decor and college fairs come first XD_ _As always, have fun don't die love yourselves enjoy and leave a review!_

 _..._

* * *

 **O**

 _Obstinate_

* * *

They were all so stubborn.

Kaede let the thought run amusingly though her head and smiled. They were all obstinate pieces of work in their own ways, they all dealt with their shortcomings differently, and they were all so passionate.

Sango refused to give up for something or someone she loved.

Miroku refused to be powerless, refused to let her die.

Shippo refused to drown in self pity.

Inuyasha refused to let any of his friends die, refused to lose.

Kagome refused to change her morals, refused to be weak.

Of course, they were all so stubborn with other things. These were just a few of their _redeeming_ stubborn attributes.

Sango, when she put her mind to it, could not be assuaged, be it saving her brother or the monk, or holding a grudge. Miroku for the life of him simply could not stop groping women every chance he got, and he hadn't seemed to be trying too hard to stop. Shippo loved to pick on people. And Inuyasha and Kagome simply could not stop arguing over the silliest, pettiest of things: should Kagome have gone home for her exam? Should Inuyasha have gone back to see Kikyo? Should he apologize, or should she?

Kaede took a sip from her tea, watching the leaves of the trees waver in the slight wind. She savored the feeling of warmth in her fingertips. It was the time when summer was starting to make way for winter, and the breeze was chilly.

Chilly. Chilly like Sango's eyes had been a couple days ago when she'd met Kaede by the river earlier. Chilly like Kagome's had been earlier when Kaede saw her walking around the town with an armload of sheets to be washed. Both women had been angry for different reasons, but both reasons could have certainly been boiled down to their pride and strong-willed spirits.

Their spirits were just as strong and outspoken as hers, but louder. Loud enough to shake the walls of their homes, and leave their husbands wandering aimlessly for the next few hours in the forest, looking exactly like children who had been scolded.

It wasn't like they took it lying down, though. They had their moments of enraged outbursts which left their wives in tears and - for the time being - subdued. But on each count, whether it be the wife shouting or the husband, it left both of them regretful and heartbroken. However, neither would apologize for a while. Because both pairs were such stubborn people.

Kaede took another sip. Her thoughts returned once again to the fact that their stubbornness wasn't all a bad thing. When they had been fighting Naraku, that fire that made Inuyasha and Kagome headstrong, and made Miroku and Sango determined had been what helped them win. That difficult to control and hard to tame, stubborn loyalty and love was what helped Inuyasha save Kagome on multiple occasions. That willful, determined-to-win sense was what gave Miroku his freedom to finally pursue Sango. Shippo's sudden sense of duty was what led him to being the most powerful youkai of his age.

The sound of laughter echoed quietly to where Kaede sat. She smiled. It was Kagome's laugh, which was soon answered by Inuyasha's gruff voice. It sounded like their apology had gone well.

Honestly, they were all such a stubborn group.

...

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Youkai - a demon or spirit

* * *

 _Currently listening to: Hamildolph - Eclipse 6_


	16. P is for Poem

**Alt Title:** **Tale of Five**

Genre: Poetry

Characters: Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kagome

Summary: Just a poem about the series _Inuyasha_.

* * *

 _A/N I am SO SORRY you guys had to read this. I don't know what was going through my exhausted, diseased mind when I picked "Poem" for P. I CAN'T WRITE POETRY! So here's something I guess you could call a poem, modeled after "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. Kinda. I tried XD  
_

 _Anyway, as ever, enjoy, have fun, don't die, love yourselves, wear your seatbelt, don't do drugs, and leave a comment! Hope you like it more than I do *nervous laugh*_

 _..._

* * *

 **P**

 _Poem_

 _..._

* * *

The boy was destined for life alone;

Not with the power of demon of noble birth,

Nor human blood flowed from his bones,

Though it pervaded his solitary home

Containing little of worth.

...

He fought to breathe his daily breath,

Struggled to meet the next day's light.

For while many others sought his death,

And however they trieth

The boy never gave up the fight.

...

On into manhood, his mother long gone,

A beautiful woman on a new moon night,

A hesitant courtship, for both were drawn

Into the dark and onto the dawn

A lonely miko, lone hanyou, they'd seen all that's right.

...

As if by destiny's cruel design

An evil arose, dark and brooding,

'Fore either could whisper, "I wish you were mine",

With the Shikon no Tama's glistening shine

Truth suddenly found them eluding.

...

With flashing arrow's silvery glow

Piercing his heart to that Sacred Tree

The young woman died, detesting her beau.

And he was left, never to know,

Fifty more winters, later he'd be the curse's frightened, eventual escapee.

...

Many years later, with similar fate,

A young man, black-haired, with hole in his hand.

The hole was a curse, one of great freight,

But never his soul turned away towards hate

For his father, his father, and quest through the land.

...

Soon after him followed

A woman of strength and love.

Though her soul was not mellowed,

Determination strong, ever she bellowed

Avenging the deaths of those who left her above.

...

Before both humans lived,

A sweet child demon,

Living a life with kind parents active.

First mother, then father, still horrors re-lived,

On nights that were dark, and moments not schemed in.

...

Finally, a girl, the start of our story,

Shikon no Tama's unwitting holder

(Though one without glory).

Falling through time with lights blue and hoary,

Stumbled upon boy with steel in his shoulder.

...

Oh how they fought! They argued and screamed,

Coming along from their unwilling coupling,

First demon, then monk, and slayer, their trust quickly gleaned.

They fought together and with their teamed

Spirits, and friends against something troubling.

...

His name was like bitter taste 'gainst their tongues,

His dark, evil presence the source of their woe.

Attempt though he try to steal breath from their lungs,

On each other they depended like a ladder and rungs,

They never let him win, fighting their foe.

...

The Powers, they knew in this strange coalition

Something was growing -

It wasn't their mission.

Through poison and sword wounds and some getting bitten,

Their feelings of ire changed to something more boding.

...

Loyalty, trust, promise and warning,

They fought and they learned,

Waking in morning

Knowing that they were together forever in warring

Against enemies and feelings undiscerned.

...

Last promises made,

That last battle approached fast,

Monk swore to taijiya he'd marry the maid.

And hanyou to woman silently swore if she stayed

He'd be hers at last.

...

Ah, but the Shikon no Tama, that vile, bitter fiend,

Had one last revenge against the lives of the troupe.

For three long years girl and half demon keened,

Against their passage alone they still leaned

In the hope that one day they soon could regroup.

...

The monk and the slayer, happy were they,

Three beautiful children,

With smiles bright as day.

All through that time they always did stay

With their mourning friend, hanyou, silently grief driven.

...

Then there was a day, normal at least,

That girl returned, as though like a dove

With a branch of olive and come from the east

After the one hundred-fifty days from rain above,

Back to the arms of the man that she loved.

...

So then they lived peaceful,

Happy and free,

Curse of solitude and death nothing but dull

Recollections to look back on, their lives went forward with the memories,

One day only remembered by pale scars on Sacred Trees.

...

(Of course I must say,

This is not the full story;

So I ask you, I pray,

Some day before me

You'll learn the whole thing, and love the allegory.)

* * *

 _Glossary_ :

Miko - a Shinto shrine maiden; "priestess"

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

Shikon no Tama - the Sacred Jewel; the Jewel of Four Souls

Taijiya - demon slayer; "Slayer"

* * *

 _Currently listening to: Congratulations - Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda)_


	17. Q is for Quiet

**Alt Title: Christmas Comfort**

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Characters: Kagome, Inuyasha

Summary: Christmas isn't a time to be feeling blue.

* * *

 _A/N Number one, sorry for the late update AGAIN; my brother is quite the computer hog, and I'm working on making a D &D character. I'm actually rather unimpressed with this story, but I wanted to do something Christmasy so... Yeah. It's set during the three year separation. So yeah, have fun, don't die, love yourselves, and enjoy, I guess. Leave a review. Bye? XD_

* * *

 **Q**

 _Quiet_

* * *

Kagome didn't blame her friends. Not really. They were just trying to help her feel included, get her out of the house for a while, take a breath of fresh, freezing cold air and get the blood pumping. But that didn't stop her from asking if she actually did regret accepting their invitation. It didn't stop it from hurting.

It was Christmas time. That much was obvious by the bright lights, the falling snow, the merry carolers, and the hot chocolate held tightly in her hand as she tried so desperately to warm them. That magical night when small children who still believed in that jolly old man would sleep anxiously in bed and wait for morning was still a couple days off, but the spirit and excitement of the Western holiday still pervaded every nook and cranny of a person's soul.

And Kagome loved Christmas. She really, really did. Just… It didn't stop her from feeling sad. Christmas to little nine year old Kagome had been exciting and a time to get new toys or clothes. Christmas to sixteen year old Kagome was a time to be with family and friends; to sit around the fire and sing together and enjoy the company of loved ones. So here she was with friends, standing in the gently falling snow and watching the lighting of the huge tree in the park center. Yes, she was with friends, whom she loved, and she had her family back home, whom she loved as well. But there was something missing. Some _one_ missing.

Here she was, standing and grinning expectantly with Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi, who were holding onto their respective boyfriends (though Yuka always referred to her's as 'just a guy-friend' though everyone knew differently), who were standing among hundreds of families and couples alike, and she was feeling lonely. Lonely on Christmas. Lonely one Christmas… And positively freezing to death. The cold was bone-chilling, mind-numbing, finger-stiffening, and basically absolutely miserable to be out in.

In her attempt to escape the bitter cold, she took a tentative sip of her hot chocolate, and allowed her sluggish mind to wander while the final preparations of the tree lighting were made. Unfortunately, they wandered to somewhere in the past.

" _Oi, jii-jii!" called a certain white-haired hanyou, strolling out of the house with his hands in his sleeves. Kagome watched him from behind, shivering as the cold air rushed into the house from the wide open door. She knew he was freezing as well, but she also knew he would never admit it. She could see goose flesh covering the skin at the back of his neck where it was unprotected by the hair over his shoulder or his Robe of the Fire Rat. Night was fast approaching, the sun almost set._

 _Upon learning that her grandfather was outside looking for some-odd ornament or another, however, Kagome had pushed him out the door with the high-pitched order to go help him. The half demon grumbled obscenities under his breath and listened for the old man's reply, ears twitching atop his head._

" _I think he's in the shed," Kagome said, coming to stand beside the tall boy with her arms crossed and teeth chattering. He turned and stared down at her._

" _You cold?" he asked derisively, raising a dark eyebrow._

" _Yeah, and your point is? So are you, dog-boy."_

"Keh _! As_ if _! I'm not_ weak _like you humans." The statement was completely belied by his shaky breathing and chattering teeth._

" _Well, there's a weak human out there in the cold looking for something despite his old age, and he needs to be rescued right now by the guy who can lift whatever he needs before he accidentally kills himself," said Kagome with a scowl, bumping his hip with hers. The scowl was returned._

" _Yeah yeah, I'm goin', I'm goin'," Inuyasha grumbled, shivering involuntarily and running out to the shed. Kagome watched him go, his white hair waving in a silvery sheet behind him, then turned on her heel and marched to the kitchen. She was determined to get warm, and she didn't want Inuyasha freezing either, so a nice mug of hot chocolate seemed to be in order._

 _The half demon and Kagome's grandfather walked in just as she was pouring the water into the mugs of mix. There was snow all over their shoulders and in their hair, and Inuyasha was carrying a huge box in his arms._

" _Where, old man?" he said._

" _In the living room will do, m'boy," rasped the old man. Inuyasha shifted the box in his arms, and walked into the living room. There was a soft_ thmp _from the living room, and old man Higurashi wandered off mumbling about needing to use the bathroom. Kagome made a face at that, and poured in the cream and milk._

 _Inuyasha was sitting huddled by the fireplace, shivering when she walked in with her two steaming mugs. Quietly, she sat down beside him and offered one of the drinks, which he took with a little grunt of thanks. "You know what's in the box that he needed?" she asked. Inuyasha shook his head, blowing across the top of the hot chocolate and taking a sip. "Do you want to find out? He shrugged noncommittally. There was something slightly off about his expression. "Are… You okay? Are you getting sick?"_

" _What? No!" scoffed the hanyou, squirming away from under her hand suddenly pressed against his forehead. "It's nothing you need to worry about, so quit asking."_

" _So there_ is _something wrong?" she asked, thrilled he'd let something slip, scared of what it might be._

"No _!" he barked. He avoided answering any other questions by downing his entire mug of drink (probably burning his throat and tongue) and leaving the room. Kagome watched him go once again. He looked like he was headed up to her bedroom. Ignoring her better judgement, she stood well and went after him: past the tree all decorated with cheesy ornaments she and Souta had all put up weeks ago. Through the kitchen where sat the dozens of badly decorated sugar cookies she and Inuyasha had worked so hard to make only a couple hours before. Up the stairs, the banister decorated with the green garlands Inuyasha had helped her carry inside as a last minute decoration._

 _Everywhere, there were signs that it was Christmas night. Everywhere, there were signs that it should have been a happy time, a time of laughter and joy, family and friends. And yet…_

 _Inuyasha had indeed gone into her room. He was sitting in the darkness, in his usual spot by the bed, looking absolutely undeniably miserable. It struck her as somewhat foreboding, and she clicked on the light. He looked up, trying to look annoyed. He only made himself look more upset. "Hey," Kagome whispered, sitting down beside him on the floor with her mug still clasped firmly in her hands. "Is there something wrong, Inuyasha?"_

 _He was silent, looking away._

" _Inuyasha?"_

" _No…"_

" _You're a liar." That caught his attention. Looking affronted, the half demon turned back to his human companion with a scowl._

" _No I'm not!" he bleated. Kagome smirked._

" _There you go again."_

" _What the-" Before he could finish, Kagome scooched closer to the young man and leaned her head on his shoulder. The words he had been about to throw suddenly died on his lips with mild surprise._

" _You know you can trust me, right?" she asked quietly, taking a sip of her hot drink and sighing. "You can tell me anything, Inuyasha. Or, you can tell me nothing. Either or."_

 _He didn't say anything. They sat there, side by side in Kagome's silent room, barely seeing the thickly falling, silent snow past the glare on the window. She closed her eyes, the silence both deafening and comforting._

" _My… My mother…" Inuyasha's voice was so quiet, so timid, Kagome almost missed it. But she didn't, and she kept listening. "She died when I was, I dunno four years old? Five? Either way, she died when I was really, really little… From illness… It killed a lot of people in the manor, about this time of the year… Nearly half of the nobles, I think. This was all a really long time ago, especially now, but…" He looked up, that melancholy expression stronger than ever. "It… Still hurts."_

" _Inuyasha…" She was lost for words. But it looked like she didn't need them. Without a sound, she reached around her friend and hugged him. She could feel him stiffen a moment, heard him give a hearty sniff, and then felt his arms wrap around her back. Sometimes, all someone needed was a hug, and a quiet feeling of warmth._

The dazzling lights of the huge tree jerked Kagome back to reality. Everyone suddenly _oohed_ and _ahhed_ , laughter ringing and people singing. It took only a few minutes for everyone to disperse. Kagome was walking behind her friends and among the throngs of happy couples she couldn't join, still smiling, though a little sadly. An undesired tear trailed down her face, freezing it still further. _At least… I got_ one _Christmas with him._

Something warm wrapped around her from behind. Something gentle, something strong, something she was well familiar with. Just as familiar as the voice in her ear. "Merry Christmas, Kagome."

She suddenly whipped around, her heart pounding, but there was nobody. No flash of red or silver or sunny gold, no mocking laugh, no fanged grin. Nothing. Nothing but a real, warm, persistent, pervading, quiet warmth.

And she was comforted.

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Jii-jii - a term for basically "old man"

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

* * *

 _Currently listening to: Star Wars Theme - John Williams (BUT IT'S BAGPIPES SO IT'S EVEN BETTER!)_


	18. R is for Reason

**Alt Title:** none

Genre: Romance

Characters: Miroku, Sango

Summary: She was the reason. She was _his_ reason.

* * *

 _A/N SEE LOOK AT THAT I CAN WRITE SOMETHING OTHER THAN INUKAG TAKE THAT VOICE IN MY HEAD. Sorry THIS is late too? I'm working on other chapters, and I've been very unmotivated lately... And distracted because I've never played D &D before and I'm making a character. Just and FYI, Adeline's an idiot. But yeah... Sorry... Also, it's short because, again, unmotivated and not really in the writing/drawing mood. Sad thing, huh?_

 _As ever, have fun, don't die, I love you guys, wear your seatbelt, don't do drugs, and leave a review because they give me life. Shout out to Alannada and , I love you guys, thanks so much XD  
_

 _..._

* * *

 **R**

 _Reason_

* * *

She was the reason.

All his life, Miroku had found solace in the company of faceless women, knowing that one day he would die like his father had, sucked into his own Kazanaa. Lady Kagome had almost been one of those women, actually. The thought that he had once groped his best friend's wife just to do it still made him a little ashamed, but it was in the past. And then Sango had appeared, and it was _almost_ immediate that he knew he'd found his reason. Of course, it _wasn't_ immediate. In fact, it had taken several days, weeks, quests and battles, but his constant groping quickly became less of a habit, more of a not-so-subtle hint.

It wasn't _his_ fault she was beautiful! Any man in his right mind would find her attractive, and only those who actually appreciated her would have stayed like he had. A grand total of him and only him, a lonely but wonderful club of possibility. It wasn't _his_ fault she liked to wear that taijiya uniform, the one that hugged her body in all the right places as she fought. It wasn't _his_ fault that she didn't see how undeniably attracted to her he was.

No, what _was_ his fault was that he kept at the groping and the reaching and the pawing and the staring and the constant flirting. And not just with her, but with almost any woman who would come into close contact with him. Or, wait… Yeah, it wasn't _his_ fault his father and grandfather had both suffered the same condition! So, he'd just let Fate take care of the rest.

Unfortunately, Fate seemed to be fond of Sango's Hiraikotsu. Specifically the Hiraikotsu knocking him in the head. Which hurt. A lot. So did getting slapped across the face by her hand, but he wasn't going to complain about that. Anyway that wasn't the point or the problem anymore, because he'd stopped with that by now. Right?

Of course he had. He was happily married, after all. Even if he was married to a woman who still smacked him like a naughty dog if he were a little too touchy. She was, after all, not just his reason to stop flirting with other women, but she was his reason to keep… Well, fighting.

Back when Naraku had been their big threat, he had almost thrown his life away on several occasions. However, he never went so far as to die because he wanted to live and… He wanted to love the woman who lay next to him tonight, breathing softly and face relaxed. He propped himself up on an elbow and smiled at her. He could only just see her in the dying firelight; there was no moon light with tonight being the night of the new moon. But what he could and couldn't see made him smile.

She was his reason. His reason he'd stopped his previously habitual flirting, the reason he'd learned what truly loving someone was, the reason he'd not died from the Kazanaa no longer plaguing his right hand, his reason to keep living.

Ducking his head back down, he pressed a little kiss to his wife's lips before resting his forehead against hers. He didn't say anything. And he really didn't need to.

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Kazanaa - "Wind Tunnel"

Taijiya - a demon slayer

Hiraikotsu - Sango's bone boomerang

* * *

 _Currently listening to: The Call - TheFatRat (ft. Laura Brehm)  
_


	19. S is for Slower

**Alt Title: Slow Down, Please?**

Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Romance

Characters: Kagome, Inuyasha

Summary: He's going to get himself killed if he doesn't slow down. And that scares her. (Gang AU)

* * *

 _A/N Number one, this is sent in the same universe as "J is for Jumped". I really, really liked writing it XD_

 _Number two, I'm a total theatre nerd. I study theatre, I go to plays, I sing along to musicals, I have all my old scripts. So that's why THAT'S there. ALSO because, no joke, this was a dream I had (no, it was not Inuyasha, it was a friend and I, actually, but I decided Inuyasha and Kagome would do it better justice). In fact, for the longest time until I started writing "S", the prompt was "Seasons", and it was about, like, Inuyasha sealed to the Goshinboku or smth. And the names "Bridger" and "Sara" are, in fact, a couple of my fellow thespians. I did not ask them to use their names XD  
_

 _Anyway, this is crap, sorry. Sorry I'm unmotivated and depressed and exams come first to fanfiction XD sob. As ever, have fun, don't die, love yourselves I love you, don't do drugs, and wear your seatbelts. Enjoy and leave a review, loves!_

 _..._

* * *

 **S**

 _Slower_

* * *

 _His back was to her. Everything was white. White as his hair. White as a blizzard. White as the future. She grinned, walking forward and reaching for his shoulder. The thing was,no matter how she tried, the closer she seemed to walk, the further away he seemed to get._

 _Her smile gradually slipped from her face as she continued. He was running now, and so was she. She tried to call out to him, but her voice wasn't working. Her hand was stretched out to him, reaching even as his form disappeared into the whiteness, the white fog._

"Kagome. Kagome. _Kagome_!"

Her eyes flew open, greeted by warm, yellow lights, semi-darkness, and the entertained expression of a certain dog eared hanyou. He gave her a pointed grin when she looked at him.

" _Keh_! Took you long enough to wake up. You were mumbling and stuff," he said amusedly. Kagome smiled weakly, despite her still thrumming, fearful heart and the panic still lingering around the fringes of her mind. _It was a dream. It was a dream. It was just a dream_.

Inuyasha's expression fell a little bit as he sank into the seat next her. They were in the high school's theatre, sitting at the moment in the house under the dim lights. Kagome, being the good student body president that she was, had unwisely offered to help the drama department with their set for the upcoming school plays.

Upon learning the amount of work and heavy lifting that was needed, coupled along with three hours of sleep the night previous (she had the soccer team to thank for that), Kagome had enlisted her half demon boyfriend-not-boyfriend to help. He'd resisted and complained the entire way there, but she knew he was happy to be somewhere that was with her, and wasn't a back-alley gang fight. Even if it involved heavy lifting and his girlfriend-not-girlfriend passing out in the audience seats halfway through.

"Hey, are you okay?"

She struggled to calm her frantic heartbeat, smiling at him somewhat insincerely. _It was a dream. It was just a dream. It was just a dream. It was just a dream_. "I'm fine, Inuyasha."

He pushed his face to her neck, taking a deep sniff and making her squirm uncomfortably. "No you're not. I'm not an idiot Kagome. You smell nervous."

"It was just a dream," she said, giving him her mantra she had been telling herself and moving away from him to stand. "I'm fine, I promise." She reached behind her head and stretched. Her back cracked from after sitting curled up in a cramped seat for who knows how long. Kagome supposed it was a few hours because she looked up at the stage and saw a fully completed set. "Wow… It's so…"

"You like it?" he asked, strolling up behind her and stopping to her right.

"It's amazing!" she grinned at him. "What do Bridger and Sara think about it?"

"They're pretty stoked about it," he said lazily, referring to the theatre "bosses", who were really just the two most enthusiastic thespians in Kagome's grade. "But they need me to help with lights or some crap now. They just headed off to the storage room across the school. Thought I should wake you up before I went off."

"Oh how dare you wake me up from my nap," Kagome snickered. "You're so cruel. You know I got like three hours of sleep last night, you jerk."

"Number one, ow," said the inu-hanyou in a mildly offended tone. "Number two, I'm well aware you didn't go to bed until four this morning."

"And how do you know that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. He shrugged.

"Window." Kagome giggled nervously. She'd only caught him doing it a few times before, but she knew that her dog-eared half demon would climb up her house to her window during the night, if not to come in, to make sure she was okay. Since she'd become entangled in the sticky spiderweb that was Inuyasha's life, she'd become a particular target for both rival gangs and his fellow gang members to get at him. She didn't care so much (despite having been in danger before because of it), but she knew that he was always scared for her life just as much as he was for his own. Apparently, he had come to her window last night as well.

"You know it's kind of creepy when you just stare at me through the window, right?" He shrugged again giving noncommittal grunt. "You're lucky I don't get curtains."

"You won't." Kagome rolled her eyes at his confident tone. After a pause, he added in a slightly lss sure voice, "You… Won't, right?"

Kagome wouldn't, but she hummed for a moment as though she were seriously considering the idea, just to make Inuyasha squirm with worry. After a few seconds she turned to him with a broad grin, leaning in to press a quick kiss to his cheek. "No, I won't do that."

Before she reached his face, he was suddenly gone. Taken aback, she glanced around. Inuyasha was walking away. Glancing once at her over his shoulder, he called, "Good! Either way, those theatre geeks are waiting for me, so if you wanna tag along you better hurry up."

Kagome stood there with her mouth open for a moment before realizing so and shutting it with a snap. Something in her heart suddenly twinged, and she swallowed hard, following him outside the theatre.

Sara and Bridger had Inuyasha and Kagome packing spotlights and stringed lights and heavy furniture props back and forth between the school hallways and the theatre and the storage rooms. It was tough work, but Inuyasha seemed determined to get it done. He was so determined, in fact, Kagome never once passed him as they walked to and fro, the human jogging with her load to keep up. She tried a few times more as well to initiate friendly conversation, but he was always distracted, he never truly talked. The twinge in her heart worsened, and now it felt like there was something cold and heavy settling in her stomach.

"There's one last thing we need," Bridger said after an hour or so of this, his face slightly red from under his dark bangs. "An armoire, for the living room scene. Inuyasha, do you want to help me with that?"

"No, we need those two fake trees, too," Sara interjected. "Kagome and I'll take care of those."

"Great. We're almost done, almost done," Bridger chuckled, bowing Sara out of the doors one more time. Inuyasha turned to Kagome and shrugged, following the two thespians. Kagome, tired and fed up with the silence, reached for his hand.

He picked up his pace before she'd even made it halfway. Annoyed, and a little anxious now, Kagome picked up her speed as well, reaching once again. The same thing happened. He was getting further and further away.

She panicked. She shouldn't have, she knew but her tired, sluggish mind and the unsettling dream pushed her.

"Inuyasha…!"

He whipped around, his eyes wide with and dark brows knitted. His jaw fell open as he saw the pretty, dark-haired human girl stumbling at him with her hand outstretched like she were a desert wanderer, and he was the glass of water she so desperately needed; weak, desperate. Her eyes were filling with tears.

Alarmed and somewhat panicky himself, Inuyasha rushed to the girl. "What? What happened? What is it? Are you okay?"

She clutched at his red t-shirt and held back a sob. The white vision was fading with the pervading warmth of the hanyou's solid, real body close to hers. She knew what that dream was now. The disturbing thoughts had only come forward to her mind at times like when she were about to drift into sleep or daydreaming in class, but they were still disturbing. And they scared her. Inuyasha might have been afraid for her life now and again, proved by him coming to her window so often in the middle of the night or when he fought people stronger than he was just for her sake and safety, but Kagome was afraid for his life as well. She knew he had his limitations and weaknesses. And yet he still always seemed to be running at full speed, fighting for his life, running, running, running… He was going to get himself killed one day either for her sake or because he simply wouldn't give up, and she couldn't stop him or save him. He was running away so far so fast, she simply could not keep up with him.

"Slow down…"

The words slipped past her tongue without her meaning to. Inuyasha's hold on her arms slackened for a moment. "Slow d…" He seemed to be slow to comprehend the hoarse statement. " _Slow down_? Kagome, are you crying because you're not _fast enough_? That's the most stupid-"

"That's not why I'm crying!" Her voice rang down the halls, making Inuyasha's white dog ears twitch with pain. She was angry, and upset, and overemotional, and confused, but by golly, she was going to get him to understand what she was talking about! "You're always running! You're always… Running into danger, or running to save me, or running on a job or errand or something like that! You're running and you're fighting and you're… You're just… You're going to get yourself _killed_ if you keep on running like this! Inuyasha, I can't keep up with you! I just…"

Her voice broke. She looked down and wiped the tears from her cheeks, avoiding looking at the his face. She was sure he would look angry or annoyed or - goodness forbid - mocking. She didn't want to see that. With a hearty sniff as she fought to get her emotions under control and stop making a scene. It was a good thing Sara and Bridger had long since disappeared down the hallway to the storage room. "You're just out of reach, Inuyasha… And it's scaring me…"

"Scaring you?" She lifted her head, ready to look into his mocking expression with defiance, but she was surprised to see that he didn't look mocking. In fact, he looked far from mocking. He looked concerned, and confused, and surprised. She nodded and he glanced away for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. "Jeeze, Kagome, that's, uh… Kinda weird."

"Weird _how_?" she asked grumpily, wiping away her tears again.

"Just… You. Being scared. And scared for me, on top of that." Kagome was now surprised herself as Inuyasha continued. "You're not scared. Or at least, you never _tell_ me you're scared. And how am I outta reach, huh? I'm right here."

"I'm terrified, Inuyasha… You're not out of reach just because you're away from me. You always do such a good job protecting me and taking care of… _Business…_ But you're just always doing something. You're always going at full throttle and just never stop to enjoy _living_. And that's what scares me."

Without a second thought, Kagome wrapped her arms around Inuyasha's chest, and with hardly a hesitation, Inuyasha reciprocated, burying his nose in her hair and taking a long, deep breath. "Living, huh?" he asked in a muffled voice. "What if running is me living?"

"There's more to life than running," she said in an equally muffled voice, pressing her face further into his chest. "I promise there is."

"Really?" He sounded teasingly skeptical, and Kagome felt his mouth twist into a little smile on the top of her head. He pulled away and gazed fondly at her puffy face and bloodshot eyes that didn't fail to hold that spark of life he found so fascinating. He lifted one of his eyebrows for a moment. "How 'bout you show me, huh?"

He leaned down and kissed her, long and slow. Kagome sighed, feeling that weird ball of tension and worry unwinding, leaving her stomach and setting her floating in happiness. Without conscious thought, she reached up and ran her fingers through his long white hair. She was happy even when he pulled away. Both were grinning. Without another word, they glanced guiltily down the hallway where they knew Bridger and Sara were wondering where their help had wandered off to, and started to walk in that direction. Kagome reached for Inuyasha's hand. She was thrilled when his fingers slid between hers.

He let her hold his hand, and walk him slow down the empty, tiled school hallway.

* * *

 _Glossary:  
_

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

House - theatre-speak for where the audience sits; the seats

Spots - theatre-speak for spotlights

* * *

 _Currently listening to: Happily Ever After - He is We  
_


	20. T is for Tripping

**Alt Title: Used to Be Me**

Genre: Hurt/Romance?

Characters: Kikyo, Inuyasha, Kagome

Summary: She knew his very well. Didn't she?

* * *

 _A/N I apologize for the very long gap between chapters. I was unmotivated coz of the holidays, finishing up The Kismet Blade, and my grandad dying. I'm fine ;) Also, Kikyo is an odd character. I wrote a big long character analysis on her, but I've been having a hard time figuring characters out in general lately XD Thanks for reading, love yourselves, have fun, don't die, and please leave a review._

 **...**

* * *

 **T**

 _Tripping_

* * *

She wasn't exactly the perfect picture of grace she seemed to be painted. She wasn't a total saint.

However, she still wasn't allowed to show it. Never. She could never be simply "human", or at least not so long as the Shikon no Tama existed.

There had been exactly one person who knew that. And he only knew that because he was like that.

Fifty years ago, she had died thinking that man had betrayed and killed her, all for the sake of that Jewel which - at least she'd thought at the time - he'd so ardently desired. She had discovered only mere months ago just how wrong she was. It took a while to come to terms with that truth and her new life, if it could, indeed, be called a life when you were made of clay, bones, graveyard dirt, and the stolen souls of departed humans.

As a matter of fact, her life was less of a life, more of a mission to destroy the man who had destroyed her own life and future fifty years ago. A vengeful spectre bent on justice, who spent most of her days hunting for fragments of that Shikon no Tama or purifying various iterations of her enemy's being.

Today, however, found her stalking.

It was one of those off days, filled with grey clouds and left the air heavy with moisture. It wasn't terribly uncomfortable or humid, but it left the presence of everything muffled, in a way. That was something that worked to her advantage; she didn't want to be caught by the ones she silently shadowed, or rather, the one.

Their voices carried over to her, despite being a good 25 feet ahead and a little ways off the path they trod.

"- Totally something he'd do anyway," came the voice of the fox kit, Shippo.

"I feel so personally attacked," sighed the dark haired monk to his left, closing his eyes and slumping to accentuate the statement. "I merely wanted to make sure that the young woman was uninjured. That was a formidable youkai we fought, and that building collapsed almost right on top of her. I wasn't going to caress her or anything of the sort, I swear."

"You should just give it up, Sango," said the voice that made her cold clay heart flutter with despicable, maidenly giddiness - that of the half demon, Inuyasha. "It's not like his lecherous tendencies started yesterday, and you know what they say: 'poisonous toadstools don't change their spots.'"

"Inuyasha!" This voice was feminine, young, and sweet. Nothing about it was really to dislike, but Kikyo cringed a little all the same. This was the voice of the woman in possession of Kikyo's own soul, the woman who held onto her life with a vise even though it did not belong to her, truly.

"Oi, you know full well that that lech ain't gonna stop trying to grope her every chance he gets. He's as bad as Kouga and you."

"And exactly what's that supposed to mean, huh?"

" _Keh_! It's exactly what it sounds like, wench! You going all sparkly eyed whenever he lays that stupid mushy stuff on you, holding his hand and crap."

"That's not what's going on, Inuyasha, and you know it! If you're so _jealous_ , just come out and say it, why don't you."

Inuyasha spluttered. "Wha… I ain't jealous, stupid! Like I'd ever get jealous over _you_!"

"My friend, we're all aware that you're more fond of Lady Kagome than you're prepared to admit," said the monk, his grey eyes glittering. Kikyo cocked her head to the side, her delicate brows furrowing. She getting so many mixed messages from the group of wandering misfits, it was rather confusing, and… Her mouth twisted into a little frown as she glanced at her reincarnation, then back to Inuyasha, who was now looking flushed and scandalized.

"I never said Kagome was pretty!" he stammered angrily, clutching at the sword at his hip.

"Neither did we," the taijiya quipped with a little knowing smirk. "You're the one who thought it."

"I did not!"

Kikyo looked back to her reincarnation. She was pretty, yes. Maybe not beautiful, but pretty, with her bright eyes and long dark hair. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, and she was frowning. Kikyo felt a vindictive rush of satisfaction for a moment, then looked back to the silver-haired hanyou.

"Inuyasha, will you ever grow up?" asked the little kitsune perched on the monk's shoulder. He was waving some sort of ball on a stick through the air, and promptly shoved it into his mouth. Inuyasha's mouth tightened into a thin line, his eyes bulging.

"Say that again, Shippo, and I'm gonna drop kick you across the valley," he snarled. Releasing his hold on the sword, he jogged forward, stopped, and lowered himself to the ground. "I'm gonna go scout ahead for a minute. You guys wait here."

Kikyo's reincarnation looked at the hanyou with something like angry bewilderment, starting forward and reaching for his robes. "Wait a second, where to you think you're-"

She tripped over a rock, failed to regain her footing, and started to fall. In a blur of silver and red, Inuyasha caught her.

Kikyo watched blankly as Inuyasha proceeded to shout at the woman, berating her for her clumsiness, the woman shouting right back at him for being a jerk about it, their argument culminating in a shouted command, Inuyasha being pulled face first into the dirt, and the young woman stomping away into the trees. The moment that the pull of the rosary dissipated, Inuyasha when bounding and shouting after her, leaving his other companions to chuckle and sigh as they stood by the road side.

Kikyo slowly backed away, more confused than anything. Inuyasha didn't love that woman, did he? He loved her, last she knew. Loved her enough to give up half of himself - that evil, dark youkai half - and become a normal man to live with her. He had asked her to live with him. Those sorts of feelings didn't change, did they? They hadn't for her. And yet…

She could remember those times when Inuyasha became too embarrassed to admit his feelings, even if they were just to her. She could remember those times when he would use violent means to protect her, sometimes suffering wounds himself on her count. She knew his little quirks, the things that made him tick; the wildly flicking ears when he was flustered or confused, the soft expression when he thought no one was looking, the lazy, fanged grin when he was feeling at ease, the stiff way he would fold his arms into his robe when he was in wary.

Yes, she knew him very well. Right? He'd always come to her if she was in the area, he'd always brush off that other woman, right? But then again… He'd always go back to her reincarnation after they were done talking. He'd tried to leave that band of misfits to travel with her. And just now, when she was only twenty feet away? He'd gone bounding off into the woods after her reincarnation.

A melancholy little smile twisted itself upon her lips as she backed away in the shady darkness of the forest trees, her Shinidamachu dancing and flying alongside her.

 _It used to be me he would catch_...

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Shikon no Tama - the Sacred Jewel; the Jewel of Four Souls

Youkai - a demon or spirit

Taijiya - a demon slayer

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

Kitsune - a fox demon/youkai

Shinidamachu - Kikyo's Soul Collectors

* * *

 _Currently listening to: Something Wild - Lindsey Stirling_


	21. U is for Undone

**Alt Title: Ogres and Little Girls and Sacred Tree Limbs**

Genre: Tragedy/Hurt/Comfort

Characters: Kaede, Inuyasha, OC, Kagome

Summary: What's a guy to do when a little girl's life is at stake? Save it, of course... Right? A prequel to "G is for Grandfather"

* * *

 _A/N So here it is: the much awaited, terribly written, and strangely formatted prequel to "G is for Grandfather" XD I apologize in advance. It ended up being very time-skippy (is that a word now?), but this is why Inuyasha was upset in the previous story. The end's kind of similar to "Q is for Quiet", but no one needs to know that. Also, the ogre's name... Figure it out XD_

 _Also, totally off topic, but I JUST got back from seeing The Greatest Showman, and I LOVED it, hOLY SHIZNICK. Guess what my next AU's gonna be XD_

 _As ever, have fun, don't die, don't do drugs, love yourselves, and please enjoy and leave a review XD_

 **...**

* * *

 **U**

 _Undone_

* * *

"Kaede?

"Yes, Inuyasha?"

"You got any idea what's with Kagome lately?"

Kaede paused in her herb gathering to glance at the half demon. He was lounging across the ground off to her left, looking perfectly at his ease with his eyes closed. Of course, she wasn't fooled into thinking that he was totally relaxed, as she could see his ears pricked up as though in alert, and his hand rested lax against the hilt of his sword. She did, of course, know what was wrong with the girl, if one could call the course of nature "wrong", but it was improper for men - even if they were half demon men - to know too much about women. "Is there something wrong with young Kagome?" asked the old miko vaguely, avoiding the question.

"I dunno. She just seems more emotional than usual, if you can imagine that. Acts kind of funny."

"It must be ye imagination, boy."

" _Keh_."

They were silent, Kaede continuing to sort her herbs. Inuyasha suddenly tensed, sitting up straight with his hand clenched tight on his hilt. "Someone's coming," he said tersely. "Two, maybe three people."

"And why is that something to be worried about?" asked the old woman in a mildly uninterested tone, but taking notice of the half demon's reaction.

"Because one of them's covered in blood."

He was right. Within a few moments, the two were approached by three people; a young woman, a man who was obviously her husband, and a young girl who must have been their daughter. The girl could have been no older than four or five years old, with long, jet black hair and a gaping wound in her side, bleeding freely. They came to a gasping stop in front of Kaede, barely giving the half demon any notice as they stared pleadingly at the old miko.

"With me," said Kaede without preamble, simply glancing at the child and beginning to shuffle her way back to the village. Deadly wounds were no new thing to her, and she knew that if they wanted to save the child, time was of the essence. She took several steps, but only made it a couple feet, slow with age. Without a word, Inuyasha stepped in front of her and kneeled on the ground with his back to her; an obvious invitation to climb on, which she did. "To my house," she said. "Follow quickly."

Within a few minutes, the group was in the miko's hut. The child was laid on a few pelts and the wounds were cleaned. With each touch near the swollen flesh, she let out a little cry or whimper. The mother was sobbing, her husband holding her and looking shaken.

"Do ye know what happened to her?" asked Kaede, looking up from her work and bloody rags.

"It was bandits," said the father, his voice shaky. "We… We don't know where she got it from though. My wife and I were working in the garden and she came stumbling up to us with the wound and a… A knife in her side… We pulled it out, but… but..."

Kaede mumbled something under her breath. "The girl is so young, and I'm missing… I am not sure if I can do much to..."

She fell silent for a few long moments, obviously thinking hard. She turned suddenly to Inuyasha, her gaze stern as ever as it fell on the half demon waiting motionlessly in the dark corner. The man and woman looked to him with a little start when they noticed him and his strange appearance, only now comprehending the claws, white hair, and dog ears. "Inuyasha, there is something I require of ye, and it is of great importance to this girl's life."

"And why should I do it?" he asked dryly. Kaede's one-eyed gaze hardened.

"You would let this innocent child die when ye can so easily save her life?" she asked coldly. Inuyasha blinked.

"I'm not _that_ big a jerk that I'd kill a kid," he said, sounding somewhat offended and fidgeting uncomfortably. "I thought you knew I'm better than that."

"Good," said the old miko, looking at the child, her parents, then at the half demon. "There is a mushroom several miles west of here called the bukuryo. It looks like a large brown rock. I need ye to bring me if I am to make the remedy for this child and save her life."

"Bukuryo mushroom, looks like a rock, bring it back as soon as possible," Inuyasha recited lazily, shifting his Tetsusaiga and making to leave. "Great. I'll be back in-"

"Wait, Inuyasha," rasped Kaede. The hanyou stopped, looking at the woman over his shoulder with a single golden eye. "The mushroom is very difficult to find normally. However, in the west as I have said, there is an ogre who hoards many an herb and cure. If ye can get the ingredient from him, it would be the most efficient and timely course."

The half demon smirked, the pointed snicker only just hiding the gentle smile underneath as he looked once to the two anxious parents. "Don't worry," he said after a moment, still looking into their worried gazes. "I'll be back real quick. How long do you think I have, Kaede?"

"I am not sure," the old woman admitted. "Maybe an hour. Maybe until sunset. There is no telling with the amount of blood she's lost. There is the possibility that the wound has become infected."

The hanyou's gaze darkened slightly. "Then I'll be going. Later."

And with that, he sped away.

* * *

The trees blurred past at dizzying speeds as he zipped down the path. He smiled, glad that none of the others were with him to see it. He couldn't help but feel happier in the forest. He may have at a few points in his life laughed at the fact that his name effectively meant "nature spirit", as he was no nature spirit, but it wasn't exactly wrong either. He truly was in his element while in the forest. This was his "home", so to speak, among the fragrant dirt and the wild winds and the towering green trees. It had been for most of his life. Of course, he'd _never_ admit that to anyone, but that was how he felt secretly.

It wasn't exactly just a chance to run through the woods that made him happy. He wasn't happy. In fact, he was quite nervous. He was grateful to be running the nervous energy out of himself, but it didn't exactly stop the thoughts running through his head. That little girl… With that jet black hair, and those bright brown eyes, she looked just like...

He came to a screeching stop all of a sudden, his eyes going wide and smelling the breeze blowing into his face from the south. His lip began to curl into an unconscious sneer; something disgusting was close by. And it smelled like an ogre. _I must be close_. He sprinted off the path he had been following for the past hour, into the trees.

Another few minutes and he found the source of the disgusting odor. It was a cave, and there was indeed an ogre. He did _see_ the thing, but judging from the smell and the heaps of bones - were those _human_ skeletons he saw among the ivory masses? - there was no other explanation. Licking his lips with mild nerves, he drew Tetsusaiga. The demon blade grew to its true size, glinting in the light that filtered through the leaves.

"Oi!" he called out, raising the sword. "Whoever you are, I want to talk to you!"

He flinched as a huge breath of foul smelling wind hit him in the face. "You dare disturb me, _half breed_?" The ogre shot the barb at the half demon, making his gaze narrow. But he didn't say anything to address it.

"Yeah, I did," he answered cooly, lowering his stance closer to the ground. "You've got some sort of mushroom that I'm supposed to be looking for to save this little girl's life. Are you going to give it to me real easy, or are we gonna have to do this the hard way?"

The voice laughed as something huge started to move out of the blackness of the cave. "You think you can take my herbs by force, half breed?" laughed a huge ogre, with brick red skin and yellowed teeth jutting out from his bottom lip. Inuyasha unintentionally pulled a face at the smell of sweat, blood, and rotten meat. "I am Shibo-sei Shibo, boy! I have killed demons who could crush you and your pathetic blade underfoot. Do you still seek to fight me, to your inevitable death?"

" _Keh_! Looks like you're opting for the hard way, huh? Lucky for me, I've had plenty of experience killing idiots like you before," scoffed Inuyasha, grinning and raising his sword again. "I'm gonna kill you if you don't move outta my way, already!"

"Try me!" roared the oni, straightening up to its full and considerable height. With another little _keh_ , Inuyasha swung the sword.

The blade struck firm and true right down the ogre's chest and down his belly, a strike which would have surely cut him in half. However, it hardly made a scratch. _What the?_

With a derisive laugh, the oni swung his arm, catching Inuyasha firmly in the chest. Gasping as the air was knocked from his lungs, Inuyasha went flying, crashing through tree branches and falling to the earth, fifty feet away. "You are an even greater fool than you look, half breed!" shrieked the oni, raising his arms in triumph as Inuyasha struggled, still gasping to his feet with his sword. A branch had pierced his arm, and blood was running freely down to his hand.

"Oh, shaddap," groaned the half demon, wrenching the branch out of his arm and frowning petulantly at the ogre, raising the sword. "Kaze no Kizu!"

The effect was nearly instantaneous. The oni was torn to shreds as the attack hit him with a shriek. Nasty bits of ogre rained down as Inuyasha sheathed his sword, still with that sour expression, and continued into the cave.

* * *

Kaede dabbed the sweat off the little girl's face. Her little chest was rising in a slow, shallow rhythm, eyes fluttering and breath shaky and painful. Kaede suspected that there was internal bleeding and perhaps even broken ribs. She sighed and looked up to the two parents.

They were sitting huddled against the wall beneath the window holding one another with tears running silently down the woman's cheeks. The man's face was blanched white like he had just seen a ghost, his dark eyes staring.

Kaede suddenly stiffened. The little girl's eyes had flown open, and she was gasping something incoherent, save for one word; "Okaa-chan! Okaa-chan!"

The girl's mother scrambled over to her daughter, blubbering and sobbing and just as unintelligible as her daughter.

Kaede knew what was happening. It had happened many a time before. Standing and allowing the father her place, the old miko shuffled outside the hut, struck oddly by the cheery chirping of birds, the warm sunlight, the colorful, bobbing heads of flowers by the road side.

" _Kaede_!" She looked, and saw a snowy white and red blur racing in her direction

"Kaede," panted the half demon, coming to a halt in front of the old miko and clutching a strange, twisted looking mushroom to his chest. "I… Got… The…" He held out a bloody hand, offering her the fungus. With shaking hands, Kaede, pushed the bukuryo back to his chest. His amber eyes widened in shock, both from the action and from Kaede's expression. It was… Sad. Kind. Pitying. His heart stuttered, his stomach dropped, his ears pressed flat against his skull, all while the worst thoughts ran suddenly through his mind, freezing it in its wake. "What are you..."

The old woman opened her mouth to speak, when an agonized, despairing wail cut the air, coming from inside the hut.

* * *

It was silent in the boughs of the Goshinboku. Kagome didn't dare break it. She had been sitting there with Inuyasha for a full five minutes by now, just sitting there, side by side.

It was a little strange, and a little unsettling. There were only a couple instances before when he had been like this, and that was when he couldn't prevent his demon blood from taking control of his mind and consuming his heart. Both instances had led to him silently seeking her comfort, which she gave him gladly. But it was still unnerving to watch him only blink and breathe, especially when she didn't know what had happened. Whatever it was, it was hurting him, bad.

"So… Today," he said in a faint little voice after a long while more, still looking at his hands. "There was… A little girl."

He paused again, but Kagome waited patiently for him to continue.

"Her parents brought her to Kaede with a huge sword wound 'cause she'd been attacked by bandits. She sent me out to find this… Mushroom… To help her, but it was protected by this ogre, and… I…" His voice cracked, and he looked straight up, through the boughs of the Goshinboku and to the smoggy blue sky. "I wasn't… I wasn't… Fast enough, Kagome. I couldn't… Save this little girl, a-and _gods_ , she looked exactly like you Kagome. She looked _exactly_ like you, and I… I… I couldn't… I didn't…"

Kagome let him talk himself into silence, her heart breaking as she watched his fragile expression, still staring through the Sacred Tree's tangled limbs. His lip had started trembling.

"Then the father came out sobbing, and the mother was screaming, and the death scent on the kid was just so strong and she… Dammit Kagome, she looked _exactly_ like you… I just… I couldn't stand it… I'm a damn coward and I ran away. I ran away from a dead child. Because I was weak. I wasn't fast enough…"

He slumped forward, his hair falling into his face. Kagome stared, her jaw hanging open a little as he raised a shaky hand to cover his eyes. "Inuyasha…" she said faintly, lost for words. This was what was upsetting him? This was… This was not a good thing. If she knew anything about Inuyasha - and she knew more about him than even she knew - this was going to be killing him. The simple fact that he was sitting here beside her, talking and trying not to cry, told her that he was dying inside. It was part of his nature to try to protect, to be strong. And even through his best efforts, he couldn't save a little girl from dying.

So instead of words, Kagome raised an arm and gave him a desperately needed hug. She knew he didn't like being hugged. He said it was the sort of stuff demons didn't so, and from what she knew about dogs, being hugged was like being trapped. So she wasn't surprised when he stiffened as she reached around his back and chest in an awkward, sidelong embrace. But much to her astonishment, Inuyasha clung suddenly to her arm, then turned and buried his face in her shoulder with a dry sob. His own clawed hands wrapped around her back as they shifted on the branch into a more comfortable position, mindful to not fall off. Kagome timidly ran her hand along his back, over his hair, brushing his ears now and then, but mostly just holding him.

Sometimes, she thought quietly several minutes later, still stroking his hair, even if he was too strong to cry, Inuyasha needed to be held. Because sometimes, even tough-as-nails, childish, violent, protective, scared, dog-eared boys came undone once in a while.

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Miko - a Shinto shrine maiden; "priestess"

Tetsusaiga - Inuyasha's sword; "iron crushing fang"

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

Oni - an ogre/youkai

Kaze no Kizu - "Wind Scar"

Okaa-chan - a term for mother; "mommy"

Goshinboku - the Sacred Tree; the Tree of Ages

* * *

 _Currently listening to: Never Enough - Loren Allred (The Greatest Showman)  
_


	22. V is for Vinyl

**Alt Title: Vinyl and Snow**

Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Romance

Characters: Inuyasha, Kagome

Summary: Inuyasha messed up. He's drunk, it's the night of the new moon, and Kagome's mad. Woo hoo... (Based off the fanfiction "Dizzy Defence for an Underdog" by Artistefish. Go read it, it's amazing)

* * *

 _A/N Number one, V is a hard letter, number two, I own a record machine and vinyls and I was listening to them, and number D, I'm a total sucker for 30's/Prohibition/Mafia style stories. A total sucker, hahah. The jargon I used for Kagome/Kitten in the bar by the catcallers was almost fully taken from a webcomic by the name of "Lackadaisy Cats" by Tracy Butler. If you've a love for beautiful art and a fascinating story about rum running, bootlegging anthropomorphic cats who more often than not end up shooting people up and running speakeasies, I highly suggest you take a read. It's amazing. Rocky is so sweet (albeit insane), and I just LOVE Freckle._

* * *

 **V**

 _Vinyl_

* * *

...

 _Where did I mess up?_

The thought ran through Inuyasha's drunken mind several times, each time more despairing than before. He was sitting at the bar, his head in his arms and one hand vaguely holding a shot of whiskey. It was his eighth shot of the night, and without his demonic blood, he would be in serious trouble going home. Number one, it was the night of the new moon, and he was out in the dangerous world. Number two, he was drunk off his stool. And number three, Kagome was probably still mad at him, so it wasn't like he _could_ go home.

The two had been in a fight that morning, and a bad one at that. It had been such a stupid argument, too, at first over something ridiculous like whether they would go out for lunch, and ending with some things that had better been unsaid. Inuyasha knew deep down in his heart that Kagome would never go to Kouga, but he couldn't stop those nagging, dark doubts that crept into his mind. He hadn't meant to accuse her, but it had just… Slipped out. He couldn't think straight when he was angry.

Then again, he couldn't think straight now, either, running his fingers through his short black hair and downing that eighth drink with a grimace. He set the little glass down and rested his head on his hands, elbows on the table and regretting life decisions. He whimpered a little bit, tears prickling at the back of his eyes. Kagome wasn't a life decision worth regretting, ever. But he regretted getting angry. At this point, he couldn't even remember why she was angry, only that she had kicked him out of the apartment, telling him she didn't want to see his face.

He whimpered again, now covering his face. He remembered wandering the city for the rest of the day, growing all the more nervous with each passing hour and eventually hiding for a while in an alley as his human blood transformed him. He then continued to wander the quickly emptying streets as a human, upset and paranoid of anyone who looked even somewhat shady. Finally sick of his shot nerves, he'd walked into this bar to drown his sorrows with liquid courage.

He sure as hell didn't feel courageous. Just sad. Sad, and still nervous. In the back of his mind, he was even more nervous; he was such an easy target right now. _Such_ an easy target, because he was a weak, drunk human.

His head fell once again into his arms.

The door opened, letting in a rush of snowflakes and cold air before closing again. He didn't lift his head as the freezing draft hit his back, unprotected by his heavy trench coat sitting beside him. He didn't lift his head at the wolf-whistles or the cat-calls that followed the door closing either. Even without his heightened hearing or sharp sense of smell (which would have been pretty much useless anyway with the loud noises and musky smells of the bar), he knew from what he heard it had been a woman who'd entered the building. He didn't need a woman. He needed another brown. He looked up, shoulder's hunched, to ask the bartender for another. He complied with a concerned look.

The door opened again. The cold air struck his back again, making him shiver. More cat-calls. "Hey beautiful, come sit with us." "What's an angel face like you doing in a place like this?" "Strike me blind, what a chassis!" "Gams up to her eyeballs!" "There's a vamp on the make if I ever saw one!" He took a swallow from his new drink and set it back down. His vision was starting to swim very nicely.

"Inuyasha?" There was a warm, small hand suddenly on his shoulder. He whirled around to stare drunkenly at whomever had touched him. It was the last person he expected.

"Kitt'n?" he mumbled quietly, squinting to stare into Kagome's face. "Wha… Wha'd are you doin' here…?"

She gave him a gentle, teary-eyed smile, moving her small hand to cup his cheek. "Come on," she murmured. "Let's get you safe. We're going home, okay?"

"But… Yer still mad at me, aren't'chya?" he slurred, struggling to get to his feet. Kagome didn't answer, only putting down a couple dollars on the bar and helping the totally canned hanyou into his coat. "I thou'd… Yeh din't wanna see my face again. I thought you hated me..."

"Of course I don't, Inuyasha," she soothed, threading her arm through his to better lead him on his tipsy, weaving way. "I was just… Mad at you. But I don't hate you. I never have, and I never will."

The freezing, snowy winter air hit him like a brick wall after the stuffy warmth of the bar. Even without his youkai senses, he could smell the difference between this new, crisp wintry smell, and the smell of the bar. He shivered and pulled his jacket closer. Kagome tightened her grip on his arm as he wobbled dangerously. "Take it easy. You're pretty drunk. Let's get you back to the apartment as quick as possible, okay?"

"How'd ya find me?" he mumbled, nodding vaguely and looking up at the starry sky.

"Miroku," she answered back, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. Despite himself, Inuyasha couldn't help but smile lazily. "He says he saw you walking into the joint something like two or three hours ago."

"Well then he get's a gold star," sighed the hanyou, his head lolling to the side sleepily. His feet were dragging on the sidewalk. Quick as a flash, Kagome planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Oh no you don't," she warned when she pulled away. "I'm not dragging you back home, and I don't have any money for a cab. Come on."

It took a while, but they made it back alright. Kagome pulled off her scarf and coat, then helped Inuyasha peel his off; he'd fallen into a snowbank about halfway through their way back, and she was worried that he was going to catch a cold. Somewhat reawoken by the freezing cold, he told her vehemently that half demons didn't catch colds right before sneezing. Quite gently, the woman wrapped the half demon in a blanket and laid him on the couch.

The last thing he was aware of before he drifted off into a wonderfully warm dreamland was Kagome settling herself close beside him with a kiss and a whispered, "I'm sorry," and the quiet, scratchy sound of a vinyl record.

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Brown - a whiskey

Gams - legs (typically of a woman)

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

Youkai - a demon or spirit

* * *

 _Currently listening to: From Now On - The Greatest Showman  
_


	23. W is for Wonder

**Alt Title: Being Young and Innocent**

Genre: Family/Friendship

Characters: Izayoi, Tamotsu, Hikari, Kazue, Hirohito

Summary: Small children and golden eyes, the innocence of youth and a little wonder.

* * *

 _A/N I probably need to go through and redo a lot of this, but I'm going to be traveling for a few days so I can't update. I have a few written though, so that's good. Hopefully you like this...? The names Tamotsu and Hirohito are taken directly from my stories "D is for Daughter" and_ The Kismet Blade _, respectively. SO yeah, enjoy, have fun, don't die, love yourselves, and please leave a review, I guess...? Tell me if you liked it..._

* * *

 **W**

 _Wonder_

* * *

 _Everything was dark, hazy, hidden. The shadows that blanketed the cavernous stone corridor like were only broken here and there by the light of small fires, and the glowing gold eyes of a certain cat demon._

" _Hanyou," came the dark voice, the golden eyes blinking, "Do you think you can defeat me?"_

" _Keh!" A short scoff burst from a red clad figure, holding a great silver sword aloft. "Do you think you can stop me?"_

 _The gold eyes flashed again, the lithe body of a black, humanoid cat youkai stepping forward into the better light. "Are you a fool?"_

" _I might be," the half demon said, grinning toothily. "But unlike you, I have something to help me."_

" _Oh, you mean something other than my minions?" tittered the cat youkai, baring her own fangs. As though her words had been a call, dozens of much smaller cat youkai crawled from the shadows. The half demon lowered himself farther to the ground._

" _Yeah," he said matter-of-factly. Four figures emerged from the darkness, like living shadows themselves and wielding weapons: a pretty taijiya with a great bone boomerang, a handsome, dark haired monk, a small kitsune with bright eyes to rival those of the cat's, and a strange miko with a bow and arrows. They came to a stop beside the silver-haired half demon lowering themselves into their own defensive stances and glaring at their enemy. "Because unlike you, I don't have minions. I have friends."_

 _With wild battle cries and screeching yowls of fury, the two opposing forces leapt at each other. Claws flashed through the air, fangs glittered milky white and orange, weapons flew with a low whistle. With another shout, the half demon leapt upon the leader of the cat youkai, knocking her to the ground. He bared his fangs, and the great silver sword came crashing down on her head._

"OW!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

"That _hurt_ , Tamotsu!"

"I _said_ sorry!"

With a shrill scoff, a small girl with black hair threw her little brother off of her. The stick he had been using as a sword fell limply from his hands as he pouted, looking sour and utterly unapologetic. Izayoi rubbed at the tender spot on the top of her head, right in between her little black dog ears.

"Izzy, Izzy, are you okay?" said another little girl. She had short black hair with a pink bow and wide brown eyes. Dropping the wooden plank and frayed rope she had been using as a bone boomerang, she helped her younger friend to her feet. Izayoi accepted her help, brushing off her yukata and wiping the tears in her eyes away with the heels of both her hands.

"I'm fine," she grumbled, sniffing and shooting another amber glare at her little brother. He had the good grace to look away, his own white dog ears flicking with blatant unrepentance. Being a child and unable to read into the more subtle "I'm so not okay" in Izayoi's tone, Hikari gave a toothy grin and clapped her hands together. Her twin skipped forward, her makeshift bow and arrow (a few sticks and some string), grabbing Izayoi's hand and pulling her away. Hirohito scowled.

"Hey!" he called at the girls now wandering away. "Where are you guys going!"

"Dunno," said Kazue vaguely over her shoulder.

"What about this battle!" Tamotsu whined, raising his stick again and waving it wildly in the air. "You know, cat demons, and mommy and daddy fighting it, and auntie Sango slapping uncle Miroku, and daddy's sword, and big fights, and all that good stuff!"

"I'm always the villian!" Izayoi whined. "I wanna pretend to be mommy or daddy sometime."

"Plus, we're bored," Hikari shrugged. "Don't wanna play it anymore."

"Besides, you guys weren't very good at playing daddy and uncle Inu right," Kazue added. Izayoi nodded with a fervent, wise little frown, closing her eyes. Tamotsu bristled, his ears lying flat against his head.

"Well you didn't make a very good auntie Kagome!" Hirohito spat back, fighting what looked like tears in his eyes, the same warm shade of earth brown as his sisters'. However, playing with only two people wasn't very fun, so he chucked his own stick to the ground - a makeshift substitute of his father's own shakujo staff - and stomped after the girls. Tamotsu

"Well then what are we gonna do, huh?" Hirohito grumped, planting his hands on his little hips in a position he saw quite often in his home of three girls. Tamotsu looked startlingly like a three year old version of his father, helped along by the long white hair and the sour little scowl. The three girls thought hard for a moment, their little faces screwed tight with concentration.

Suddenly, a bright idea seemed to strike Hikari. Without warning, she reached forward with both hands, very briefly ran her fingers along Tamotsu's soft little puppy ears (his brown eyes widened, completely taken-aback by the abrupt action), then ran off, screeching at the top of her shrill young voice, "Tag! You're It!"

With delighted shrieks and giggling, Hirohito, Kazue, and Izayoi all bolted from their youngest playmate, who had shouted in indignation and stomped his little bare foot before tearing after them.

In any normal case, had a three year old been chosen to be it against children who were up to twice his age, there would have been an unfair advantage. However, with special thanks to his father's demon blood, Tamotsu had an edge against most of his friends (though maybe not his sister) - a fact that had become blatantly and infuriatingly obvious to his mother over the course of many high-speed chases to get him bathed or in bed. With a little effort, the little hellion was able to catch up with Hikari, leaping up and yanking on the blue bow in her hair. He was careful not to undo it entirely; he had made that mistake only once, and wasn't eager to receive another stern warning from his mother after auntie Sango told her what had happened.

" _Tagyou'reit_!" he shrieked with a single breath, before streaking off in the opposite direction, towards the tall grass. She chased after him for a moment before turning on Hitohito, who reacted a little too slow. She gave him hearty smack, screamed the game's mantra, then rushed into the weeds with Tamotsu.

Next went Izayoi, who tripped before she could avoid getting away, then went Hikari again, then Kazue for a very long time, then Hirohito, then Tamotsu, then Izayoi, then Tamotsu, and then suddenly they were playing hide and seek among the towering grass, waiting in thrilling silence until the shriek of "found you!" carried over to their hidden positions, and each of them were picked off. They were hiding under the abandoned wagon, behind rocks, in the ancient, gnarled apple tree in the middle of the field their mothers told them not to climb, out in the open and distracted by a passing butterfly.

And then they were _all_ in the apple tree, swinging in the branches, scrambling through the leaves. Izayoi and Tamotsu had often seen their mother and father hiding up in the Goshinboku, and as the phrase so aptly goes, "monkey see, monkey do". Though in their case, "puppy see, puppy do" might have been more appropriate.

For nearly an hour, they were pacified, the sun setting as they munched happily on warm, almost overripe apples that had been left in the summer sun, swinging their legs as they sat perched on the low branches. Kazue and Hikari, being the two eldest of the group, wove little stories for their friends about fairies who lured children away, hanyou children of the past who fight against evil fires, snow demonesses who enchanted men and sucked out their youth, princesses who lost glass slippers, kitsune who led people on the adventure of a lifetime; things that only young children could think up after hearing their parents and relatives tell stories to them.

However, in the wild forests and wilds of kid-dom, a child's attention turned rapidly. Before long, they were racing down to the river, splashing in the water, chasing and catching fish.

"Look! Look look, to your left!" Hirohito squealed, dancing in the water and pointing at one of his sister's feet. "No, your other left!"

"I caught it!"

"Betcha can't catch two at a time!" Izayoi shouted, grinning toothily from ear to ear.

"Betcha you can't, either!"

The sun was halfway sunk below the horizon when they all returned to the bank. They were greeted by the wonderful sight they had hoped for: the warm, golden glow of fireflies that they caught until long after the sun went down and their stomachs rumbled with hunger, smiling with childish, innocent delight as they caught and released the magical insects. Their surroundings were lit only by those tiny, phosphorescent specks under the darkness of a moonless, diamond strewn sky.

And finally, after that long day of pretending and playing and storytelling and magic, it was home.

With practiced silence, a pretty, dark haired and very pregnant woman holding a little baby peeked into the small room her dog-eared children slept. Their arms were draped over each other, the blanket thrown off their bodies as they tossed and turned on their bedding furs and futon. She smiled sweetly as one of them sighed. From behind, her husband approached, black-haired and charcoal-eyed and utterly human, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Just look at them," murmured the husband, wrapping his arms around his wife's stomach from behind her back. "Pretty tired, ain't they? 'Course, they've been running around like little demons all day, too, huh?" His wife chuckled a little, then fell silent.

"Inuyasha," whispered Kagome softly after a moment, not taking her eyes off her soundly sleeping children. "Do you remember being that age?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember how it was being that young? That… Innocent, I guess."

Inuyasha chuckled. "Yeah. It was before my mother died. I feel bad for her; looking back I realize that I was a pretty wild runt."

Kagome snorted. "No, I'm pretty sure you're still wild." She settled deeper against her husband's chest, rocking the silver-haired baby in her arms. The mat covering her childrens' room fluttered down as her hand left it. "The world was filled with such wonder back then, wasn't it…"

Turning his grinning wife around, Inuyasha raised a dark brow. He smirked, his fangs oddly absent from the picture, but not surprisingly. His human hands were resting lightly against her sides - close to his still unborn fourth child - as he ducked down and mumbled, "It still is though, ain't it?" He pressed a tender little kiss against her lips and pulled away. Kagome giggled.

"You're so lovey-dovey on your human night," she teased, raising a brow of her own. Inuyasha pouted, then grinned again.

"Stupid human emotions," he said nonchalantly. "Watch out, wench. I can be plenty rude if I wanted to."

"Well aren't you the charmer," Kagome said in a low, quiet voice, kissing him again and brushing past. "Careful, or you're going to end up spoiling me."

" _Keh_! Aren't you already spoiled?" he asked in mock outrage. "Not every man goes out of his way to fight demons and protect his wife and kids, do they?"

"Not every man's you, either, Inuyasha. I wouldn't want anyone else." She grinned as his expression faltered for a moment. He was always so surprised, even after she had returned to him five years before, when she reaffirmed the fact that he was indeed the only man she loved, even if he was a rude, emotionally constipated, wild inu-hanyou. She turned away, rocking her baby again and heading for their bedroom. "Hurry up, dog-boy. I want to get to bed while Gesshoku's asleep. Oh, and grab my bow, too, will you? It's by the fire."

Inuyasha did so, lifting the well-worn and weathered weapon and quiver, looking to where Izayoi and Tamotsu slept, then at his wonderful, beautiful wife's retreating back. An unconscious smile slipped across his face. For once in his life, he knew he was right. From being alive, to not being miserable on his human night, to having a beautiful, loving wife, to having children of his own that, many years ago he would have never thought he'd ever have, there really was a lot of wonder that filled the world.

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Hanyou

Youkai

Kitsune

Taijiya

Miko

Yukata

Goshinboku

* * *

 _Currently listening to: My stupid dog barking SUPER loud  
_


	24. X is for Xenophobia

**Alt Title: Humanity**

Genre: Family/Angst?

Characters: Izayoi

Summary: Whispers followed her wherever she went for the rest of her life.

* * *

 _A/N *crawls out of grave* uHG I'M ALIVE. I hate traveling, not to mention dealing with other drivers (sorry, but I'm stuck between two of the worst states in the entire US of A when it comes to driving XD). BUT I'M BACk. WIth a terrible chapter. huehuehuehuehuehue. I'm sorry, it was late, and this was the only thing that came to mind. Anyway, this story is very influenced by both my story_ The Day Will Come _(I actually really liked writing that :V), and the AMAZING_ _story_ Sixteenth Night _by funk-tastic. Holy crap, that story is SO GOOD, everyone should read it and love it and accept it into the canon because just... Uhg, it's so good.  
_

 _Oh, I was going to say, are you guys interested - after chapters Y and Z are posted - to see the rejected chapters?_

 _As ever, have fun, don't die, love yourselves, don't do drugs, and please leave a review! love ya, lol_

 _..._

* * *

 **X**

 _Xenophobia_

* * *

 ** _Xenophobia - the irrational fear or dislike of people who are foreign, or, essentially,_**

 ** _different_**

...

Whispers followed her wherever she went for the rest of her life.

Honestly, they were sort of hard to ignore, too. Not only were the whispers harsh and dark and unhidden, but the whisperers themselves made their views known in both the vocal and physical sense. They were noble men and women who were anything but as they shrank in revulsion from her and her son when they passed in the corridors of the mansion. They were frightened servants who slunk into their room like they were being sent into the lion's den. They were the samurais who passed through the mansion as they went to formal dinners for some act of bravery they performed in some battle or another. They were her own family as they banished her to the far side of the castle, away from them. Banishing their treacherous daughter, who willingly bore the child of a demon.

She would be the first to admit that it was all her fault. Like her family knew, she had willingly fallen in love a demon with and borne him a son. She had traveled alone with him for an extended period of time, had trusted him with her life, had walked with demons and fought with demons. Such things were unheard of, a crime against nature, blasphemy, dishonor upon their family name. She fully accepted that. She would also be the first to admit that it absolutely appalled her that her family would be so cruel as to essentially banish her from their presence. What family abandoned a grieving, new mother, totally her, looked upon their own daughter or sister with disgust and disdain other than her own family?

They at least allowed her a place to live out her days.

And yet, those whispers still followed.

And the worst part?

They followed her son.

The servants were probably the least cruel of the lot. As they tended for the disgraced princess and her half demon child, most of them came to realize that not only was the woman perfectly sane and kind, but her son was just like any other child his age. A few of them even came to visit now and again, bringing their own children, playing with the small, innocent, precious half demon boy. However, not all of the servants were so open minded; most of them remained convinced that the princess and her child of evil would bring nothing but misery and curses upon the castle.

Then there were the nobles and the samurai. And oh, their cutting words. The rumors that flew… The rumors that the princess Izayoi had loved a youkai willingly and that her child was a terrible demon with red eyes and a terrible face, wicked claws, that he had killed a human child, then eaten his corpse. It wasn't true. Her beautiful, wonderful, precious, innocent, loving little boy had never - could never - kill someone. Not if she could help it.

And her own family… Her brother who ruled the mansion, her mother who was his closest confidant. They had renounced her, refused to look or interact with her. They would not be associated with that traitorous woman they had once called family, nor her half breed whelp.

And so mostly, she stayed in her corner or the castle, hiding away in the wonderful, fragrant world of the gardens, playing with her precious child. The servants whispered. The nobles whispered. The warriors whispered. The common folk whispered. They refused to look at that tiny silver-haired, dog-eared, golden-eyed, milk-toothed, sharp-clawed, sweet and loving and completely innocent little boy.

They refused for their fear of the different. And she was bitter. Because Izayoi's little baby might have been different but Inuyasha had more pure humanity than the rest of them combined.

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Youkai - a demon/spirit

* * *

 _Currently listening to: The Other Side - The Greatest Showman  
_


	25. Y is for Youki

**Alt Title: Newton's Third Law**

Genre: ...Angst?/General

Characters: Inuyasha

Summary: He felt. He felt a lot. He just didn't ever say it.

* * *

 _A/N Originally, the prompt was "Yesterday", and it was going to be a short, sweet little drabble about - you guessed it! - Inukag. Upon realizing that 90% of these chapters were of that pairing (because I can't stop myself), I decided to scrap that chapter halfway through and write a long study on Inuyasha's youki (helped along by me reading the manga and watching the anime alllll the time because I'm trying to ignore the steadily growing pile of homework). It's a fascinating creature, demonic power is. Very fickle XD  
_

 _I have so far gotten one "Yes" for the rejected chapters? Please answer if you want them? Because if so, I need to finish them XD ALSO I just played session 1 of D &D with my new group and holy crap that was fun XD SO many critical fails and rats and flying sneks._

 _As ever, have fun, don't die, love yourselves, don't do drugs, and please leave a review! Enjoy!_

 _..._

* * *

 **Y**

 _Youki_

* * *

It was like a drug. Or maybe an illness.

That was really the only way he could explain it. Of course, there were only a few ties he'd ever tried to explain it, so he didn't really have a lot of practice explaining it, nor did he have the patience to try and do it more often. His loss. Kagome would have listened to him.

Of course, a lot of what they knew was actually completely conjectural. Things based off of what Myoga would tell them, things Sesshomaru would hint at, things he felt…

He felt a lot.

He just didn't ever say it.

And oh, the feelings.

On the day of the new moon, he would wake up ill. Achy. _Weak_. His ears would ring and his hearing would fade, his nose would feel like it would get all stuffy, he couldn't breathe as deeply, his chest hurt, his head spun, his eyesight dimmed-

It was awful.

And losing his youki - his demonic power, half of his very being… It was just as bad.

It always caught him off guard when his youki decided to finally abandon him. Sometimes it was the moment the sun passed below the horizon, others it fled several minutes after darkness fell. Either way, his power was waning and negligible just before it left him entirely, totally, draining from his blood like a cup with a hole in the bottom, like the feeling in the pit of his stomach like he had leapt too high and was falling now far out of control.

And then he was human. And how weak this cursed, pitiful human body of his! He could feel pain, and it was pain so terrible sometimes it was almost unbearable! He felt cuts and scrapes and battle wounds, and as a child, worst of all was that crippling hunger which was bad enough as a hanyou, and a hundred times worse as a human. A stabbing, ripping, tearing, horrible starvation.

At first - now many years ago - the worst part about being human had been simply that he couldn't fight. It was hard enough to fight as a weak child, and then being forced into hiding with no chance of protection should he be found was plenty enough to break someone, especially a five year old boy. And yet, in some terrible twisted way, being a weak human had been his salvation. Sometimes, he had to swallow the vestiges of his princely pride, and fight down the fear of humans he had for so long cultivated. However, while villagers and other common-folk might chase away the "wretched demon child", there weren't many who would fail to take pity, and turn away starving children on rainy, moonless nights.

And then one night he was forced into revealing this dangerous, horrible secret, and before he had even realized the difference, he hated losing his youki not just because he couldn't protect himself. He hated it now because he couldn't protect the only people he trusted unconditionally, couldn't protect the one person in the world who meant more to him than his own life. The one person who - when he was at his weakest and craved more than anything her wonderful, comforting scent, her soft little smile - he couldn't even sense from the other side side of the dark hut they had holed up in for that night, that terrible moonless night.

And then at last those endless nights would end, and the wonderful rush of youki returning to him was inexplicable, unexplainable. It was like he had leapt again, but rather than falling out of control, this time he could fly, feel the cold rush of clear wind against his face and raking through his hair like cool fingers. It was like waking up after a long illness and finally breathing again, it was like emerging from a pitch black cave that had never once seen the light of day since the creation of the world into an orange and pink dawn. It was the best feeling in the world. It was the best feeling to finally be himself, and to be able to - at last - fight and protect.

Of course, there were two sides to every coin.

One day, he had been rifling through Kagome's backpack for something (most likely ramen) when he saw some curious pictures in one of those infuriating "textbooks" she carried around and treasured like her life depended on them. Unwilling to tell her that he couldn't read the stupid thing - or indeed read much at all (he hadn't ever learned, nor needed to before, after all) - he had asked her about them. She'd then gone on about some dead foreigner by the name of Isaac Newton and some laws he had made. And for whatever reason, the phrase "every action has an equal, opposite reaction" had stuck in his head. Such was the case with his demonic blood it seemed. If he could lose his youki completely, it only made sense that he should be able to access it completely as well.

Unfortunately, that other part of his youki was somewhat more… Frightening. Difficult. Unpredictable. And certainly, undeniably, vastly more dangerous.

In fact, he was a danger to everyone around him.

And oh, the rush he felt every time he lost control, every time he lost his mind, every time he lost his human heart! It was an incredible, exhilarating, intoxicating, electrifying, breathtaking feeling that was both more wonderful and more terrible than anything he had ever felt before! It was like he could do _anything_ , like he had all the power in the world. He felt no pain. He felt no fear. It was like nothing in this mortal existence could stop him.

And yet, it was absolutely terrifying.

There was a very, very small part of him that remained sane and conscious when his blade left his hand - when his dark, demonic blood took over his mind and body completely, and that very small and frighteningly weak part of him knew that nothing could stop him like this. Or nearly nothing, at least. Not Miroku. Not Sango. Not Shippo. Not Sesshomaru. And sometimes, not even Kagome.

There had been one time when he had attacked her.

That had honestly been the worst experience of his life. He had tried to tell her to run, his voice tearing from his throat as that inner demon fought for control of his body. He had screamed for her to purify and kill him - essentially _begged_ for her to save herself - because this terrible, wonderful _, dark_ part of his being was a wild animal: feral, and untamed, and strong, and violent, and frighteningly possessive. The moment he had seen her, every instinct to kill had left, instead replaced with a single, primal lust; a terrible, hungry " _mine_ " that had chilled the blood of that one, tiny, sane part of his mind.

Thankfully, the rest of his friends and Kagome had managed to subdue this different, more terrible side of him before he could do more than tackle her to the ground.

Thankfully (despite how much he loathed the fact), Sesshomaru had been able to knock him unconscious long enough for his real, true, sane self to regain control over his dark, evil demonic blood a time before that.

Thankfully, Kagome had the sense to use the one weapon against him she had that wouldn't kill him - the Beads of Subjugation - a time before that.

Thankfully, his sanity had remained just long enough for him to fight for control until he reached the hilt of Tetsusaiga once again, and his youki - his demonic blood - settled back into his command.

Each time had been a near miss, and it had been easily possible that he could have killed them all. However, the gods had seemed to be feeling merciful. Or perhaps they had simply taken pity on the poor half breed who couldn't control his dark demonic blood. Either way, his youki would eventually come under his control once again, and his dark inner demon would lie down to rest until the next time that curiously traitorous thought of " _I don't want to die_ " crossed his mind.

Indeed, his youki was truly a monster. It was a monster in many ways. It could either abandon him when he needed it most, or it could control him when he needed it least. Or perhaps it was that relief he so desperately needed after new moon nights, or - like when he lost his demonic blood on some of those moonless nights a a child - even his salvation during battle. His inner youkai was a curious beast. Sometimes it threatened to harm his friends. And sometimes it was so fiercely protective of them, it went so far as to save them: snatch them out of the air, take the blow meant for their throats and attack their enemy with renewed fervor.

So here he was, with both a human heart that beat and demon blood pumping through his veins. Both human emotions and demon reasoning. With a soul that wasn't quite human, wasn't quite demon. Such was the soul of a hanyou.

Tonight, while he sat with his back against a tree and his bare feet towards a fire, he thought. Surrounded by friends he held close - the people he secretly loved, held precious and dear - staring at a pretty face without the fear of dying in the night alone, he knew that honestly he wouldn't want his demonic power to be any other way.

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Youki - demonic power

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

Tetsusaiga - Inuyasha's sword; "iron crushing fang"

Youkai - a demon/spirit

* * *

 _Currently listening to: Anamanaguchi - Hatsune Miku (yes, I listen to Vocaloid, shush)  
_


	26. Z is for Zenith

**Alt Title: Struck Her  
**

Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Friendship

Characters: Inuyasha, Kagome

Summary: Inuyasha was a lot of things, but he wasn't cruel. But if this wasn't the thing he regreted the most in his life, then he damn well might have been.

* * *

 _A/N THE FINAL CHAPTER, HOLY CRAP LEMME TELL YOU. Z is SUCH a hard word. But as I've always said, an prompt is a prompt, not a rule. So I stretched it, so zenith is kind of about stars and there's a lot of stars in this one. Also it's long.. Sorry, hahah! And cheesy. Holy crap, the cheese. I hope you're not lactose intolerant. But I tried to keep everything very vaguely romantic, because this is meant to take place in the canon, around the middle of season 6, so... Yeah._

 _I'm planning on posting the rejected chapters (all of which are only half done, so I get to look forward to finishing those), but_ Alphabet Soup _is technically officially done! Woo hoo! Keep on the lookout for my next stories,_ Reversed _(which is kind of a bunch of drabbles that I'll post whenever), and_ something-else-I-don't-have-a-name-for-coz-it's-literally-just-a-bunch-of-notes-but-it's-based-off-of-"J-is-for-Jumped"-so-woo-hoo _!_

 _ANOTHER NOTE: I highly suggest you listen to "Inuyasha and Kagome's Theme" on repeat as you read this... Because I did while writing it, and it's beautiful and sad and this is kind of a sad story of "what if Inuyasha hit Kagome" because that would break his heart, also oops spoilers._

 _I don't like cussing, but it really just fit here.  
_

 _THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING! Have fun, don't die, love yourselves, don't do drugs, and leave a review!_

 _A/N2 Fixed a few typos, added a couple words. Sorry._

 _..._

* * *

 **Z**

 _Zenith_

* * *

Sometimes Inuyasha did things that he regretted. After all, he wasn't well known for his intelligence or common sense; as a matter of fact, he had a reputation for quite the opposite. The wrong things came out of his mouth at the wrong times, the right things caught themselves in the back of his throat at the right times. He rushed head-first into battle without a plan, attacked the enemy at face value and often endangering his own life because of it. He was rough, and stubborn, and rude, and conflicted, and self-critical, and a million other things, but he wasn't by any means cruel. Not really.

But gods, if this wasn't the thing he regretted the most in his entire _life_ , then he damn well would be.

It was hardly a laughing matter.

It had been such a stupid thing too! It usually wasn't like him to be upset after a fight. They usually did him such good, helped him blow off some steam, take out some of his pent up frustration over the fact that he and his friends had yet to defeat Naraku. But this fight hadn't been like that. No, this fight had to have ended on a few sour notes. A few sour notes that were also known as: number one, Kagome endangering herself, number two, for his sake, and number three, him taking the attack that was meant for her.

It was a couple hours until he had the strength to walk on his own again after the massive scorpion's poison. He didn't regret taking the attack; considering how potent to venom was to him, it certainly would have killed Kagome. But dammit all to hell, it still hurt! And then he had to keep fighting the stupid bug after that. And it had been laughing at him, calling him "hanyou" and "half breed" and "mongrel" and "little doggy" (that had infuriated him most of all), and a million other dog-related insults. Some of them stupid, some of them a little too explicit. But no matter what it was, up until he got so fed up with the dang thing that he blasted it with the Kaze no Kizu, the massive scorpion just seemed to delight in emphasizing his canine heritage.

And then after, when the inutachi had been walking along the road again, Inuyasha holding the still-healing wound in his side, Kagome had made things worse.

She started talking to him.

Honestly, could she - or any woman with any man, for that matter - not figure out that when he was this agitated, he _did not want to talk to her?_ No! She kept hanging onto his shoulder, patting his arm, trying to push him down to side of the road to check on his wounds, nagging for him to just talk to her! She was as bad as Shippo to his bad mood!

" _What's going on with you?"_

" _Nothing."_

" _You're_ such _a bad liar. Obviously_ something's _bothering you, so what is it?"_

" _It's none of your_ business _,_ wench _. Leave me alone!"_

" _Inuyasha, what is your issu-"_

" _I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE, DAMN IT!"_

That's when he did it.

The thing that was now currently causing him so much grief as he sat huddled and limp in the tangled branches of a tree, too upset really to move.

The thing that was eating him from the inside out, because he never thought he would ever do it to her.

He had raised his hand and hit Kagome.

It wasn't hard or anything, not like what he did to Shippo when he was annoying. Just a little slap on her hand, batting her fingers away as she attempted to continued her ministrations on his wounds. But it had been firm and decisive, with a sharp, solid _smack_ that rang still in his ears.

It didn't look like she was _really_ hurt or anything, but she instantly jerked backward, clutching the abused extremity to her chest with her other hand, her dark eyes wide with shock and hurt.

He'd been immediately horror-stuck the moment he realized what he had done.

He had just hit Kagome.

He had just _hit_ _Kagome_.

 _Kagome_.

Standing swiftly, his own eyes wide with horror, he ran. Like a coward, he ran away.

He'd been hiding up in the branches of this tree for about half an hour now, though he had first run away several hours ago. It was starting to get dark around him, the sun's final fingers of light streaking the violet sky with a final few fiery rays. He had moved positions several times before now, leaving every time he heard one of his friends getting nearer, calling out for him. He couldn't face them just now. Not after what he had just done. No, it was better to hide his face from them, to wallow in despair, because he had just _hit_ Kagome. Of all people, _Kagome_! Not Miroku, nor Shippo, nor even Sango who could have defended herself, but _Kagome_! Weak, sweet, utterly human Kagome who had never fought a battle a day in her life before she met him, who was nothing but understanding and determined, who had asked _him_ if she could stay by his side. Kagome, who had only been hanging off of his arm and nagging out of concern for _him._

And he had _hit her._

It didn't matter how hard, it didn't matter where, because the fact was that he had just attacked one of the only people in the world who gave a damn about him, and he didn't even have the excuse of his demonic blood this time. He had, under his own volition, in his sane state of mind, with his whole heart, lashed out and struck her.

He buried his head in his arms again, pulling his knees closer to his chest.

It had been a long time since he had last heard any of their voices. Since he had last changed position to now, it must have been nearly forty minutes. Had they given up on looking for him? Had they been as disgusted with him as he was? Were they angry? Would they leave him?

He whimpered, like the wounded dog he was.

He didn't want to be alone again.

Not after meeting them. Not after spending so much time with them. Not after he had woken up from being pinned to that ancient tree and met Kagome. Not after going through so much with the only people in the world he would willingly put his life on the line for. But he just didn't know if they could forgive him. Hell, he didn't know if he could forgive _himself_. The hand he had used to strike Kagome with felt like a lead weight as he clenched and unclenched it a moment. He wanted to chop it off, throw it away in the farthest lake where the fish could devour it whole. He wanted to run back to his friends and beg their forgiveness, but he knew that with his stupid pride and his ineptitude, he would just end up saying the wrong thing and they would hate him all the more for it.

And he just couldn't stand to see hate from Kagome, directed at him. He didn't want to see hate in her eyes. Of all places, not there.

Yes, it was better to hide.

Hide and hope that he could show his face around them again, someday.

"Inuyasha?"

He just about jumped out of his skin at the soft call. He definitely screamed.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" came the voice again. It was coming from the base of the tree. And it made his blood run cold. He didn't want to look down at her. He didn't want to see how much she despised him now. It was all moving too fast. So he released his grip on the branch - which he had clawed into when he screamed - and huddled his knees close to his chest, looking straight ahead.

"We've been looking for you for hours!" Kagome said. "I've been so worried. Why don't you come down? We made camp on the hillside and we caught some fish."

"You've been… Worried about me?" he said against his will, still staring at a clump of black and blue leaves, avoiding looking down.

"Of course I have! Why wouldn't I be?"

" _Keh_! I ain't a weak human like you." His typical answer to her concern came without conscious thought, and he regretted that too, the moment it came out of his mouth. "There ain't nothing in this forest that can hurt me." _Except for you._

"Yeah yeah, I know. Why don't you come down? Better yet, why don't you just look at me?" Kagome called again. Damn. She had noticed.

"What if I don't wanna come down?" he called back.

"Just come down, please?"

"No!"

A few stretched seconds of silence, then, "Osuwari."

It wasn't a vicious or angry command or anything, but it still had the same effect as always. With a sudden, painful jerk, and an unflattering yelp, he was yanked out of his tree, falling ten feet down and slamming face-first into the earth below. It was as painful as ever to kiss dirt, but he didn't shout at her or get angry. In fact, he didn't even get up when the power of the Beads lessened.

And that scared Kagome.

Fearing she had accidentally killed him, she rushed over to the spread-eagled hanyou and kneeled down by him, resting her hand on his back. "Inuyasha! Oh my gosh, are you okay! I didn't kill you, right? Are you hurt?"

He sat up slowly, pushing himself to his hands and knees, then flopped over onto his rear. He didn't look at her. She leaned to the side to look into his face. He turned away.

Immediately, the worst thought popped into her mind, as worst thought so often did when one didn't know what was going on. There were only a few times when Inuyasha didn't look at her, would constantly avoid her gaze, and they were all when…

"Were you seeing Kikyo?" she asked, her heart sinking and tone losing a little bit of its usual light inflection as she thought of the undead miko.

Inuyasha glanced at her, then shook his head. "No…" He looked away again.

The fact he had given her a straight answer told her he was telling the truth. Her despicable little bubble of jealousy settled itself again like a predator in its cave. But it still didn't tell her why he refused to look her way.

"Are you sick?"

"No..."

"Did you see something happen?"

"No…"

"Was it that scorpion calling you all those names?"

"No…"

"Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing…"

She scoffed, a little irritated with his one word answers by now. "Well then why won't you look at me, huh?"

Silence.

Thoroughly annoyed, Kagome reached forward as she had done several times before and yanked on his hair so he had to turn and face her. And just as she opened her mouth to say something, she stopped.

That was the saddest expression she had ever seen on his face. It wasn't even melancholy or upset, but sad. Almost heartbroken.

And he was looking right at her.

Very slowly, her hands released his hair, but she didn't look away. A thousand questions suddenly ran rampant, each one clamoring to be asked first, but there was only one that made it.

"Is it that you hit me?"

He blinked, his mouth twisting itself in a wry grimace, then swung his head away from her again. For a moment, it looked like he was about to cry, but then his face just fell into a deep , melancholy sadness. _So that's it…_ The thought rattled around in her skull for a few moments. He was upset because… He had hit her. He wasn't upset when he hit Shippo or Miroku, nor was he upset when demons called him horrible names, he wasn't upset when he got injured, but he was so wounded the one time he struck her in anger - even just that light little smack that he had given her - he had run from them, hidden for hours.

"Oh Inuyasha…" She leaned forward and touched his hand. His right hand. The hand that had hit her hours before. He tensed, glancing sharply once again at her before turning away. "You don't have to be upset about that. I'm not mad or anything. I kinda deserved it, actually, bothering you that much. I'm sorry."

He whipped towards her, looking furious. "You're sorry? _You're_ sorry? Dammit Kagome, _I'm_ the one who's supposed to be sorry! _I'm_ the one who hit you! _I'm_ the one who got angry and didn't apologize! _I'm_ the one who shouts at you, and says horrible things, and _I'm_ the one who screws up! _I'm_ the one who can't protect you! Gods, Kagome, you've literally got _nothing_ to be sorry for! _I'm_ the one who should be apologizing, not you!"

He seemed to realize that he was shouting after a few more moments, his expression fading from aggravation to distress again. He pulled his hand away. After a moment, he sighed. "You're so good to everyone. Everyone likes you. And I mean, it's not everyone who'll befriend a hanyou. But you did. And of all half demons out there, you got stuck with me. I'm a bastard to you, but you keep by my side. And I know you don't mean for it to be like this, and I don't want you to get upset, but I'm gonna be completely honest; that kinda makes me feel guilty. It makes me guilty that I yell at one of the only people in the world who'll deal with me, but she keeps on forgiving me. And then I turn around and I hit her? When she's only trying to be nice? I don't know if you can understand what that's like, Kagome."

It had been the longest time he had ever talked to her at once about how he was feeling. Part of Kagome's heart was absolutely elated that he was talking to her. Another part of her was a little scared. And the rest…

She reached for his hands again, taking both of them this time, staring fixedly into his face. "Inuyasha," she said firmly. "I…" _Really haven't thought this through,_ finished the dry little voice in the back of her head. She blinked. "You're right. I don't know what it's like. But what I do know if that you are one of my best friends. You've protected me more than you'd ever know, even if you get hurt. And I totally understand why you were angry at me earlier. It can't be easy dealing with me. And I don't ever want one of my best friends to feel guilty. I don't want you to feel like that.

"I don't hate you, Inuyasha. I never could hate you." _Not when I know that I've fallen in love with you_. "So please don't worry about hitting me. I know you didn't mean it. I was being annoying, so it was my fault anyway. Just… Please come back?"

He had turned away from her as she was speaking, but now he was looking fully into her face, his expression almost neutral, and yet oddly curious. The final rays from the sun had set a few minutes before, and the moon had yet to rise, leaving the small spot they were kneeling at bathed with faint, silvery starlight that made his demon eyes glow like amber gems. The rest remained shrouded in shadows like living, breathing beings.

After several long moments, and without a word, he stood very slowly, holding her hands so she would rise with him.

There they stood for another long while, bathed in starlight, staring. Not a breath of wind broke through the trees. Not a word was said. Nothing, save the chirping of crickets and the low song of a night herons in the warm summer darkness. With a small smile, Kagome threaded her fingers through the fingers of Inuyasha's right hand and started to walk away, leading him to the camp and their friends.

And he followed her.

 _ **} } }}{}{}{}{}{}{{ { {**_

It was peacefully quiet at the moment.

Quiet and dark. There were stars sprayed above their heads, like a thousand shards of diamond. Short grass - dyed black and blue and silver in the darkness and light of the moon - stood stock still, soft and sweet smelling. It tickled their ankles, cradled their legs and backs as they stared, each, into the light of that soft, full moon directly above, their eyes shining with its silvery light and the infinite pinpricks of the stars at their zenith.

Closer to the treeline than the the rest was a Buddhist monk with a little smile across his face and a pretty demon slayer resting on his arm. She was smiling faintly as well, her own arm thrown out to the side and the other resting on her stomach as she stared into the sky.

A little ways down the gentle slope of the hill were two tiny figures, one with dainty little fox feet, the other with delicate, red slit pupils. Their tails were fanned out to the side as they sat as well, perfectly content.

And even further blow them, halfway down the slope, was a half demon with streaming white hair, and a miko beside him, her own midnight black locks tangled with his, her dark eyes sparkling with the lights of a thousand stars in the high heavens above, flecks of gold twinkling, reflecting her soul to the hanyou like nothing else.

Their hands were still entwined.

* * *

 _Glossary:_

Hanyou - a half demon/youkai

Kaze no Kizu - "Wind Scar"

Inutachi - the group of Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo; often translated to "Inuyasha and co." in the manga

Osuwari - the sit command used for a dog; "sit, boy"

Miko - a Shinto shrine maiden; "priestess"

* * *

 _Currently listening to: Inuyasha and Kagome's Theme - Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairytale_


End file.
